The Charlotte men’s soccer team topped Greensboro 2-0 Tuesday night in an in-state rivalry matchup. Charlotte saw themselves with a man advantage for most of the second half when the referee issued a second yellow card to a Greensboro player. The one man advantage would help see Charlotte through to their second win of the season.
The 49ers took the lead early in their first road game, when Kyle Parker was awarded a penalty kick in the fifth minute of the game. Parker stepped up and converted the penalty, shooting the ball into the lower left corner.
Greensboro goalkeeper Davis Griffin guessed right and got his fingertips to the ball, but it deflected into the back of the net.
Charlotte had their first scare in the 36th minute, when the Spartans were awarded a free kick in the midfield.
Aaron Reifschneider played the ball into the box for Greensboro, where Hugo Coicaud was able to get a shot off, but it sailed over the crossbar. The game would enter halftime with the 49ers up one goal even though the Spartans played better in the first half.
Out of halftime, the referee showed Greensboro their second yellow card, resulting in a man advantage for the 49ers. Despite being a man down, Greensboro kept up their strong play and almost equalized in the 62nd minute.
Greensboro’s Lukas Zarges crossed the ball in off a corner kick that fell to Coicaud again. Coicaud directed a headed shot towards goal but the ball was cleared off the line by a Charlotte defender.
Minutes later, Charlotte took a two goal advantage when Monbo Bokar finished a through ball from Zhuvonte Wilson.
The game finally looked to be in the 49er’s hands, but Greensboro kept up the pressure which resulted in a Charlotte red card. Both teams were down to ten men.
Shortly after the red card was issued, Greensboro has another scoring chance when Justin Jones put a header on goal which beat Charlotte goalkeeper, Austin Pack, but skimmed the cross bar and stayed out of the net.
When asked about his thoughts on the game, Greensboro head coach Justin Maullin had a lot to say.
“Charlotte is a very good team, but I think everyone watching the game today saw we were the better team. It’s unfortunate to come away with a 2-0 loss, but we were unlucky to go down early to a penalty kick just five minutes into the game.”
Charlotte’s effort to keep Greensboro from scoring paid off, as they picked up their first clean sheet of the year. The win in Greensboro should give the 49ers plenty of momentum, as they head to Rock Hill, South Carolina on Friday to face Winthrop.