Men's soccer adds six players

The 49ers' men's soccer team has six new commitments for the upcoming season, which holds a lot of promise with eight returning starters from last season's team that made the NCAA tournament for the first time in 12 years:

-- Defender Thomas Allen (Providence High) was all-state last season.

-- Goalkeeper Gavin Dawson is a transfer from Denver, where he played in three games last season with a 1.28 goals-against average.

-- Midfielder Jeremy Dennis (Vance High) was The Observer's player of the year last season and was all-state.

-- Midfielder Aidan Kirkbride comes from Ormskirk, Lancashire, England and attended tryouts recently for Ireland's U-19 national team.

-- Midfielder Will Mayhew played at Concord Robinson High and is a transfer from Wake Forest. He's a preseason Atlantic 10 all-rookie team selection.

-- Midfielder Paul Willoughby is a transfer from West Florida, where he scored 11 goals and had eight assists in two seasons.

Charlotte's first game is Sept. 1 at UNC Greensboro; the home opener is Sept. 4 against Elon.

--------

New men's tennis coach Billy Boykin has hired Jesse Tarr as his assistant. Tarr, a former player at James Madison, was an assistant last season at William & Mary and was a volunteer assistant at Boise State.