The young college soccer season quickly turns serious tonight when two rivals - Charlotte and Davidson - play a women's game at the 49ers' Transamerica Field at 7 p.m.

"It's Davidson-Charlotte," said 49ers coach John Cullen. "Whether it's cards, volleyball or soccer, it's game on."

It's not too often that Charlotte and Davidson play these days in any sport. The men's soccer and baseball teams are no longer on each other's schedule, and the men's basketball teams will play again this season after a three-year hiatus.

But the women's soccer teams are fairly regular opponents. Charlotte leads the all-time series 10-3-1 and won 2-0 last season at Davidson. Before that, however, Davidson had won three straight times (2004-06).

"They've always been a tough opponent for us, I can't tell you why," said 49ers senior midfielder Sam Huecker. "They have a lot of heart and passion."

Both teams have big expectations this season. Davidson has six starters back from last season's Southern Conference championship team that lost to South Carolina in the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats won their season opener Sunday, beating UNC Wilmington (another NCAA tournament team from last season) 2-0.

"That was a nice way to get started," said Davidson coach Greg Aston, who has two preseason all-Southern Conference players in midfielder Allison Drutchas and defender Amanda Flink. "What we accomplished last year has increased our expectations. It's helped with recruiting. We've got nine freshmen coming in this year and there's a learning curve we're going to have to go through."

Charlotte missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in three years last season when it lost 2-1 to Dayton in the Atlantic 10 tournament final. The Flyers are again expected to win the league, but Huecker doesn't want to rely on that to make the NCAA tournament.

"We've got to put ourselves in a position to get an at-large bid," said Huecker. "That means we've got to win as much as possible in the regular season."

The 49ers - led by two-time Atlantic 10 offensive player of the year Whitney Weinraub - have a challenging schedule: Beginning Sept. 17, they play six straight road games before returning for five consecutive games at home.

"This will be a great game, we're so close to each other," said Aston of tonight. "Charlotte has done so well in the Atlantic 10. They're a well-coached and talented team. It will be a challenge for us."

Said Huecker: "They want to beat us as badly as we want to beat them."

School supply drive

Fans who bring a school supply to tonight's game will be admitted free. The program is part of Classroom Central's School Tools Campaign.