Following three consecutive matches away from the Queen City, the No. 19 Charlotte men's soccer team returns home for the first time in three-and-a-half weeks when it takes on the No. 14 SMU Mustangs on Saturday night. Kickoff from Transamerica Field is slated for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Fans can follow Saturday's match via Sidearm Live Stats, HERE, or via the evening's live stream on ESPN+, HERE, to listen to Jack Fitzpatrick on the call.
THE BASICS
- Saturday's contest between Charlotte and SMU will be the first-ever matchup between the programs on the collegiate pitch and is just the seventh meeting all-time for any Charlotte athletivs program against the Mustangs.
- Charlotte arrives at this weekend's league tilt following a second consecutive draw, this time coming in Boca Raton against FAU, to the tune of a, 2-2, score line, upping CLT's AAC point total to five.
- Saturday's match will be Charlotte's first contest this season against another ranked opponent. Tulsa and Memphis have each been ranked in the USSCA Coaches Poll this season, but were unranked when they took on the 49ers. SMU is currently No. 14 in this weeks poll, while the Green & White fell to No. 19 after back-to-back draws.
- SMU currently leads the league in points with 12 through five contests, while Charlotte is currently on the outside looking in in the conversation for the conference tournament with just five points in four matches. Saturday's tilt will likely be crucial in the final outcome of who not only makes the league tournament, but earns a bye to the semifinal round.
- A win Saturday would mark CLT's 500th victory as a program dating to the team's inception in 1976. In just under 50 years of play, CLT has amassed a .605 win percentage, while averaging over 10 wins per season.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
- SMU is currently riding a four-match win streak in American Conference play with a pair of multi-goal victories and a pair of one goal triumphs last week. Most recently, SMU took down UAB, 1-0, on Sunday night following a goal from AAC points leader Knut Ahlander in the 47th minute.
- On the stat sheet, the Mustangs are led by the most lethal goal scorer in the American, Knut Ahlander who's scored 10 goals and dished out a trio of assists and 23 total points while starting in each of SMU's 11 contests. In those 11 matches Ahlander has three multi-goal games and four matches with four points.
- On the touch line, SMU is led by Mustangs soccer alum, Kevin Hudson who is currently in his eighth season in Dalls. A member of SMU's 2000 College Cup squad, Hudson has led SMU to three American Conference crowns, four trips to the NCAA Tournament and an Elite Eight appearance in 2019.
SERIES HISTORY
- The Niners and Mustangs have never met previously on the collegiate pitch, as Saturday's match will likely be the first of many between the new American Conference foes.
- Saturday's contest will be Charlotte's third-ever contest against a team from the state of Texas. CLT played TCU in both 2001 and 2002, winning both tilts by an aggregate score of, 5-0. In the match in the Queen City, CLT edged the Horned Frogs, 2-0, at Transamerica Field.
LAST TIME OUT
- Despite holding a dominant, 2-0, lead for more than 80 minutes in Boca Raton, the Niners drew at FAU, 2-2 on Sunday night in American Conference play.
- Sophomore Filip Jauk and senior Kameron Lacey each found the scoresheet for the Niners on Sunday night, helping the Green & White build a 2-0 advantage heading into the halftime break.
- In the second half, the Niners withstood an early storm from the Owls and were seeking a third goal. However, a pair of goals in the final 10 minutes, upended the Charlotte lead, sending both sides home with just a single point.
NINERS STILL NEAR HISTORIC WIN TOTAL
- A victory Charlotte's match on the road at AAC foe Tulsa on Sunday would give Charlotte men's soccer, 500 victories in its 47-year history.
- Since beginning play in 1976 the Charlotte men's soccer team has amassed a number of milestones on the way to 500 college soccer victories including a sparkling, .605 win percentage (current record of 499-309-103).
- Along with its incredible win percentage, the 49ers have experienced 36 winning seasons through the conclusion of last year, 31 seasons of 10 or more wins, 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, nine conference titles and a pair of appearances at the NCAA College Cup, all while averaging 10.7 wins per season.
PLAYING FOR MORE THAN WINS
- Last week across the Americna Athletic Conference in all sports is Pow6rful Minds Week to raise awareness for student-athletes who struggle with their mental health.
- The initiative was brought fourth by the conference's Student Athlete Advisory Committee and is a week that coincides with Mental Health/Illness Awareness Week across the country.
- As a part of the initiative players will be wearing green ribbons on their jersey's while coaches will display the same ribbon's either on the front of their shirts or on their sleeves as arm bands.
- The display by athletes and coaches included all competition in every sport across the American from October 3-9. Due to some supply chain issues Charlotte athletes and coaches will be displaying the pins and ribbons during Saturday's contest against SMU.
CLT LOOKING TO CLIMB THE AMERICAN STANDINGS
- Coming into Saturday's AAC tilt, Charlotte is currently in eighth in the American Conference standings with just five points through four matches. At the current stage, Charlotte is on the outside looking in, to an appearance at the 2022 American Men's Soccer Tournament.
- A victory over No. 14 SMU on Saturday would not only move CLT back into poll position to make the Conference Tournament, but could allow CLT to just about control its own destiny in seeking out a bye to the semifinal round during November's Championship tournament.
- In the AAC Tournament the top six teams make it. The top two seeds receive a bye to the semifinals with the regular season champion hosting the semis and the final. Seeds three and four will host seeds six and five in the quarterfinals on Nov. 6. Receiving a bye to the semis is vastly important for both travel and rest during the tournament.
KAM JUST CONTINUING TO BE KAM
- Senior Kameron Lacey continues to be a force in the final third for the Charlotte 49ers. In 10 matches, Lacey leads the team and ranks third in the American with seven goals.
- Lacey has also added in a pair of assists this season to up his team-leading point total to 16. Both his points and goal tallys thus far are already career-highs for a single season with five regular season matches still to play.
- In 52 career matches during his three and a half years in the Queen City, the Miami native has totaled 39 career points as a member of the Green & White, leaving him just 17 points shy of breaking into the top-20 on Charlotte's all-time points list. Due to COVID-19, Lacey still has one year of eligibility remaining should he want to play one more season at CLT.
- In 2022, Lacey has scored in all but four matches for the 49ers, scoring most recently in Charlotte's, 2-2, draw at FAU on Oct. 9. He also recorded his first career brace, in the Niners dominant, 6-1, victory over Coastal Carolina on Sept. 21.
Original source can be found here.
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