Texas two-step await Charlotte 49ers at season's end

CHARLOTTE ATHLETICS

Charlotte goalkeeper Emma Wakeman's eight clean sheets this season is the most by a 49er since 2008.

The Charlotte 49ers women’s soccer side is hitting the road to end the regular season.

Charlotte (6-5-4, 2-2-2 American Athletic Conference) will start its three-match road trip at North Texas (8-3-2, 2-2-2 AAC) on Oct. 19. The match against the Mean Green is the first of two in Texas for the 49ers, who head to SMU on Oct. 22.

Charlotte is 1-7-1 in nine previous matches against North Texas and have struggled to score against the Mean Green, with just two goals scored in the series.

Charlotte closed out the home portion of its schedule with a 1-0 loss to No. 9 Memphis on Oct. 15. Goalkeeper Emma Wakeman tallied five saves for her third consecutive game with at least five stops and seventh of the season.

The 49ers are tied for fifth overall in the AAC with Florida Atlantic and North Texas with eight points and one point ahead of Alabama Birmingham and Tulsa, which are deadlocked for eighth at seven points.

The top two teams in each division will earn the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds in next month’s postseason tournament, with the team garnering the most points securing the top seed. Seeds 3-8 are based on total points, regardless of division. Memphis, which could clinch the West on Thursday, has already earned a spot in the showcase in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.

North Texas has wins against Rice and Texas San Antonio in AAC play and unbeaten at home at 4-0-1 with a 2-2 draw with Tulsa. The Mean Green has the top-scoring offense in the AAC with an average of 2.54 goals per contest, which is 16th in the country. Summer Brown paces the team with seven goals and 17 points, putting her tied for the conference lead in points and third in goals. Teammates Jenna Sheely and Bailey Wesco have six each.

Wakeman has been in goal for all eight Charlotte clean sheets this year, the most by a 49ers goalkeeper in a single season since Lauren Brown had as many in 2008. Her eight clean sheets are tied for eighth most in the country and tied for second-most in a single season in school history.
 

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