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3/11/2025 | 1:00 PM
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Mar. 11 (Tue) / 1:00 PM
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CHARLOTTE— The Charlotte 49ers put on an offensive clinic Thursday (March 6) afternoon, dominating visiting FDU (1-4) with an explosive second half to secure a lopsided 23-7 victory over the Knights in non-conference women's lacrosse action. The Niners outscored the Knights 11-2 after halftime to shatter their previous single-game scoring record of 20 goals while improving to 5-3 overall and a perfect 4-0 at Jerry Richardson Stadium.
The 23 goals scored mark the highest total by an American Athletic Conference program this season. Charlotte scored the last 11 goals while holding FDU scoreless over the last 23 minutes of the game. Charlotte had a 34-11 advantage in shots on goal and a 26-13 edge in ground balls, while committing 11 fewer turnovers than FDU (22).
With her seventh and final goal of the day, graduate student Claire Schotta reached 100 points in her collegiate career and set a new program record with seven goals, just two days after Isa Torres set the previous mark with six.
Kylie Gioia assisted on five of Schotta's seven goals against the Knights. Gioia added two goals to finish tied for the team lead with seven points alongside Schotta. Torres added another five scores. Mia Guarini tallied two goals and two assists, while Katie Gorski contributed three goals, the sixth multi-goal performance for the freshman.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Trailing 4-2 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter, Torres and Gorski delivered consecutive goals to tie the game entering the second period. Torres cut the deficit to one goal with 1:48 left before Hailey Kulesa won the draw control, and Charlotte took advantage of an extra-woman opportunity with 1:02 on the clock.
The consecutive goals late in the first quarter served as the precursor to an impressive second quarter, in which the 49ers outscored the Knights 8-1. Gorski's second goal gave Charlotte the lead with 12:45 left in the second period, and Brooke Alessandrini scored 39 seconds later, following Kulesa's draw control.
The final 8:51 of the first half belonged to the Niners as they scored six straight goals to balloon their lead from 6-5 to the halftime score of 12-5. Aly Prasinos and Gioia scored 38 seconds apart to take an 8-5 edge with eight minutes left. Later in the quarter, Charlotte returned with goals on three consecutive possessions. Guarini scored a woman-up goal with 3:33 remaining, with draw controls from Kulesa directly leading to a pair of goals from Schotta.
Torres put the finishing touches on an excellent quarter, scoring 14 seconds before the intermission, taking a pass from Guarini and rocketing a blast off one leg toward the net.
The Knights scored the first two goals of the second half, cutting the deficit to 12-7. From that point, it was all Charlotte, as the 49ers scored the next 11 goals to end the game. Guarini kickstarted the 11-0 run with an unassisted goal midway through the period. The freshman weaved through two defenders and beat the keeper for her fourth point.
Charlotte needed just 107 seconds in the third quarter to score four goals to force a running clock. It took only 21 seconds for Gioia to connect with Schotta for consecutive goals and the 16-7 lead. Torres scored the other two goals in the rapid sequence, with draw controls from Kulesa preceding three of the four goals.
The Niners outscored the Knights 6-0 in the fourth quarter. Gorski and Torres scored woman-up goals to start the period and Gioia took a break from passing the ball to score a highlight goal.
Freshman Ella Suglia assisted on the goal to Gioia to earn her first collegiate point and added her second assist on Schotta's 100th point. Freshman Karsen Corbett tallied two goals late, marking the first two goals of her career.
KYLIE TO CLAIRE CONNECTION
This season, Gioia has dished out 27 assists and 13 have went towards Schotta goals. Over half of Schotta's 23 goals this season have come via a pass from Gioia. Against FDU, Gioia assisted on a season-high five goals to Schotta.
The Knights had no answer for the duo's chemistry as Gioia, playing usually from behind the goal, was routinely slinging passes to a cutting Schotta. Following Bella Burke winning the first draw, Gioia found Schotta for the opening goal of the day. The second connection, which tied the game at 2-2, was nearly identical to the first goal. Playing behind the goalie, Gioia led Schotta to the far post with a pass, and the graduate student immediately buried the ball into the back of the net.
In addition to the consecutive Schotta goals that Gioia assisted on in the third quarter, Gioia also dished out an assist to Schotta on a second-quarter goal that gave Charlotte a 10-5 advantage.
MORGAN'S MESSAGE
Charlotte dedicated Thursday's game against FDU to the life and legacy of Morgan Rodgers, a former Duke University Lacrosse student-athlete who died tragically in July 2019 after battling mental health challenges. Although Morgan's life was cut way too short, her legacy of unconditional love remains. Morgan's Message was created by her family and former teammates with the mission to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health, normalize the conversations about mental health and to ensure that mental health is treated equally to physical health for all student-athletes.
Pregame, the Niners held a moment of silence for Morgan, and recognized Morgan's Message at halftime.
For more information on Morgan's life and legacy and how you can help those with mental health struggles, please visit morgansmessage.org.
STAT FACTS
Gioia is leading her teammates with 47 points and 27 assists this season. Torres ranks second in points with 31, and both Torres and Gorski are tied for second in assists with six. Torres leads the team with 25 goals, two more than Schotta for the season.
Kulesa finished with a game-high nine draw controls, along with two ground balls and a caused turnover. Burke turned in four draw controls, two ground balls, and a caused turnover. Hailey O'Donoghue contributed three draw controls, two caused turnovers, and a ground ball.
In addition to shouldering a huge offensive load, Torres and Schotta each recorded a pair of ground balls and a caused turnover. Kylie Gioia had three ground balls with a caused turnover.
In her first start in the net, Claire Smith earned her first win with four saves and five ground balls.
Charlotte outshot FDU 42-14. The Knights attempted seven shots in the first quarter and seven over the next three periods.
UP NEXT
The 49ers are off this weekend before hosting American University on Tuesday, March 11. Admission is free at Richardson Stadium as first draw is 1 p.m.
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