49ers-Bluejays: Keys to the game

HOOVER, Ala. -- Here are a few things to watch for in tonight's 49ers-Creighton men's soccer College Cup semifinal:

-- The Bluejays have the nation's top defense (their .21 goals-against average is best in NCAA history; they've allowed five all season; goalkeeper Brian Holt's 43 career shutouts are an NCAA record), but they've also got one of the country's top offensive players. Ethan Finlay has 14 goals and scored the game winner in the Bluejays' quarterfinal victory against South Florida in overtime.

-- There are no stats for balls won in the air (headers), but Charlotte is about as good as it gets doing that, especially defensively in the penalty box. The 49ers won just about everything in the air in the quarterfinal victory against a bigger Connecticut team. They'll need to be as strong again tonight.

-- The best Charlotte player at breaking down a defense individually: forward Evan James. He'll go one-on-one, usually down the right side, against Bluejays defenders.

-- Winning the ball at midfield and converting quickly into a counter-attack is a 49ers staple. Midfielders Tyler Gibson, Donnie Smith, Aidan Kirkbride and Owen Darby will need be solid in that department tonight.

-- If the game should go to a penalty-kick shootout, watch for the 49ers to again bring in backup goalkeeper Gavin Dawson, as they did against UConn. He's bigger than starter Klay Davis (6-3 to 6-0) and fills that goal up better.

Biggest weekend in 49ers history?

Don't know if there's ever been a bigger weekend in Charlotte 49ers sports history. Charlotte faces Creighton in the men's soccer College Cup tonight at 6, with a berth in Sunday's championship game -- potentially against North Carolina -- on the line. Then there is the not-so-small matter of the 49ers' men's basketball team going against Mecklenburg County rival Davidson at Halton Arena on Saturday.

There's always the 1977 men's basketball Final Four. And there also was something pretty similar 15 years ago, the last time the 49ers advanced to the College Cup.

In 1996, Charlotte played (and lost to) Florida International in the College Cup semis on Friday, Dec. 13. The next night, the 49ers also played Davidson in basketball, beating the Wildcats 70-68 in Belk Arena. That was the year Halton Arena opened.

If you remember the '77 and '96 weekends, post it in the comments section here and remind us how it was and how it might be different from today. Or if there's another moment that was as eagerly anticipated, let us know about that, too.

Of course, everything goes off the charts if there is a 49ers-Tar Heels soccer final.

Potential 49ers-Heels matchup wouldn't be first in Birmingham

HOOVER, Ala. -- Whether Charlotte and North Carolina face each other Sunday for the national men's soccer championship remains to be seen. The 49ers play Creighton and the Tar Heels face UCLA in the semifinals Friday

But there already is some 49ers-Tar Heels history at Regions Field, which serves primarily as a minor-league baseball stadium. The Birmingham Barons’ Michael Jordan got his first hit as a pro baseball player on April 10, 1994, against Knoxville’s Joe Ganote – a former 49ers pitcher.

Ganote lasted longer in pro baseball than Jordan did. He bounced around the minors for seven seasons from 1990-96.

-- Charlotte soccer player Evan James is an accomplished singer and would have majored in the music field had time constraints not conflicted with soccer. He said athletics director Judy Rose once asked him to sing the national anthem before a men’s basketball game at Halton Arena. James, however, declined. He’s from Canada.

-- The 49ers’ are relatively healthy this season. The only injury of real consequence came when midfielder Will Mayhew (Concord Robinson High) went out for the season with a torn ACL in September.

-- Charlotte’s Gentile was named a first-team freshman All-American by College Soccer News on Thursday … 49ers senior defender Charles Rodriguez and James have been invited to Major League Soccer’s player combine Jan. 6-10 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Other College Cup players invited to the combine: North Carolina forward Billy Schuler, defender Matt Hedges and midfielder Kirk Urso; Creighton defender Andrew Duran, midfielder Greg Jordan and forward Ethan Finlay; UCLA forward/midfielder Eder Arreola, midfielder/defender Andy Rose, goalkeeper Brian Rowe and defender Shawn Singh.

It's soccer in a baseball stadium

A few College Cup notes. The 49ers play second-seed Creighton on Friday in a national semifinal in Hoover, Ala.:

SOCCER IN BASEBALL STADIUM: Despite the recent construction of soccer-specific stadiums in several cities around the country (Kansas City, Kan.; Frisco, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Harrison, N.J.; Carson, Calif., among others), the NCAA awarded this year’s College Cup to Hoover, where the games will be played in the Birmingham Barons’ minor-league baseball stadium.


MEASURING UP: Charlotte’s all-time records against the other College Cup teams: North Carolina, 3-14; Creighton, 1-2; UCLA, 0-2. The Bruins came to Charlotte in 1979 and beat the 49ers 4-2 in a game played in Memorial Stadium.

FAMILIAR FACES: The 49ers and Tar Heels played a preseason exhibition at Transamerica Field on Aug. 21. More than 4,000 watched North Carolina rally to a 2-1 lead before the game was called with 20 minutes remaining because of a rainstorm.

CREIGHTON'S DEFENSE: The Bluejays (21-2) allow just .22 goals per game and have conceded five all season. Like Charlotte, they've got experienced seniors in their defense. Creighton advanced to the College Cup with a 1-0 overtime victory against South Florida on Sunday. The game was originally scheduled for Saturday, but postponed when 6 inches of snow fell in Omaha, Neb.

-- BOLOWICH'S IMPACT: The Bluejays are coached by Elmar Bolowich, who left North Carolina for Creighton earlier this year. Bolowich is the Tar Heels' all-time winningest coach and in his 22 seasons in Chapel Hill took North Carolina to 15 NCAA tournament, five College Cups and one national title. North Carolina made the College Cup from 2008 through '10, so this is Bolowich's four straight trip.

49ers advance to College Cup

STORRS, Conn. -- The Charlotte 49ers advanced to the College Cup for a second time in school history, getting past Connecticut on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie.

Charlotte will play in this week's national finals in Hoover, Ala.

Charlotte trailed 1-0 late in the game until freshman Giuseppe Gentile's equalizing goal with three minutes left.

After a scoreless overtime, Charlotte made four of its five penalty kicks, with senior Charles Rodriguez making the clinching one.

The Charlotte (16-4-3) will play the winner of today's Creighton-South Florida in the semifinals Friday.

49ers set for ECU

-- The 49ers (3-2) and East Carolina (4-2), who play today at 5 p.m. at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, N.C., have seen a lot of each other lately, splitting two games last season (Charlotte winning in a tournament in Charleston; East Carolina winning in Greenville, N.C.). They will play in Halton Arena next season.

 -- Charlotte hasn’t played since last Saturday, when it beat Wright State 70-66. But the 49ers will be busy over the next week, traveling to Radford on Tuesday, then hosting Mecklenburg Country rival Davidson Dec. 10. Then the 49ers have another nine days off before playing Coppin State Dec. 19 in Halton Arena.

--  Charlotte center Chris Braswell is the Atlantic 10’s second-leading scorer (18.3 points). East Carolina’s Shamarr Bowden, a transfer from Charlotte, scored 14 in a loss to Old Dominion on Tuesday.

-- East Carolina played in Charlotte's Bobcats Arena a few weeks ago, beating Appalachian State by 20 points. The 49ers want to play more games uptown against big-name opponents (they beat Tennessee there last season). The ACC's Florida State is a possibility in the near future.

Charlotte soccer features stifling defense

In case you missed it, here's the story from today's Observer on Charlotte's stifling defense, which has been a key to the 49ers' run to the soccer elite eight, where they visit Connecticut on Sunday.