Charlotte 49ers men's soccer |
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2016 Charlotte 49ers men's soccer team | |||
Founded | 1976 | ||
University | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | ||
Head coach | Kevin Langan (3rd year) | ||
Conference | C-USA | ||
Stadium |
Transamerica Field (Capacity: 4,000) |
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Nickname | 49ers | ||
Colors | Green and White |
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NCAA Tournament runner-up | |||
2011 | |||
NCAA Tournament College Cup | |||
1996, 2011 | |||
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals | |||
1996, 2011 | |||
NCAA Tournament Round of 16 | |||
1992, 1996, 2011 | |||
NCAA Tournament appearances | |||
1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 | |||
Conference Tournament championships | |||
1983, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2010, 2013 | |||
Conference Regular Season championships | |||
1983, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 |
The Charlotte 49ers men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The team is a member of the Conference USA of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The team plays their home games at Transamerica Field in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2011, the team reached the championship of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, for the first time in their program's history.
In 1996, the Charlotte 49ers men's soccer team became the first Conference USA team in any sport to reach the National semifinals. The Niners won a school record 19 games. They went 7-1 in Conference USA to capture the regular season title. The Niners defeated College of Charleston, Notre Dame and Hartford to reach the national semifinals before falling to Florida International in front of 20,269 fans in Richmond, Virginia. Goalkeeper Jon Busch becomes the Niners' second first team All-American after recording 12 shutouts and a 0.89 goals against average. Busch also earned Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year honors. John Tart was named Conference USA Coach of the Year.
The most notable season in Charlotte soccer history came in 2011 when the 49ers became the first team of any sport in school history to reach a NCAA national championship. The team was ranked in the top 25 throughout the entire season thanks to a challenging yet successful non-conference campaign. The Niners finished the regular season with an Atlantic 10 record of 6-1-2 and 13-3-2 record overall. After an early disappointing loss to Xavier in the Atlantic 10 tournament, Charlotte then went on a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. The unseeded Niners defeated Furman, #11 UAB, #10 Akron, and #5 Connecticut to advance to the program's second ever College Cup in Hoover, Alabama. The Niners went on to defeat #3 Creighton before falling to #1 North Carolina in the national championship game with a score of 1-0.