Brandt Bronico’s goal lifts Charlotte 49ers past Radford 2-1 in NCAAs
The Charlotte 49ers shut down Radford’s high-powered offense for all but about 10 minutes Thursday night and handed the Highlanders a 2-1 setback in a first-round NCAA men’s soccer tournament game.
Midfielder Brandt Bronico, a thorn in the side for Radford all night, scored the winning Charlotte goal with 6:30 remaining.
The 49ers (11-5-3) advance to the second round and a 1 p.m. meeting Sunday in Winston-Salem with the tournament’s top seed, Wake Forest. Radford finished with a 14-4-2 record.
Max Rodriguez launched the winning play, taking a shot from about 10 yards in front of the Radford goal. The ball bounced off Highlanders’ goalkeeper Aitor Pouseu Blanco and rebounded out to the right side of the goal box. Bronico, who was following on the play, unleashed a low shot that skidded into the right side of the net.
“It was an incredible playoff game,” 49ers’ head coach Kevin Langan said. “Our bravery, commitment and mental toughness were on display tonight.”
The first half was marked more by fouls than scoring opportunities, but the 49ers broke through with 3:17 left. Charlotte’s Bronico took a free kick from 40 yards out, angling the ball into a congested area in front of the Radford goal.
The ball landed near the foot of defender Luke Waechter, who found himself staring at the empty right side of the goal. Before Radford’s Pouseu Blanco could react, Waechter scored from about 5 feet away. It was his first goal of the season.
“Brandt and I had made eye contact before his free kick,” Waechter said. “He angled the ball in to me, and I made the most of it.”
Charlotte’s defense, which suffocated the Highlander attack for much of the game, eased about one-third of the way into the second half, and it cost the 49ers.
Charlotte failed to clear the ball from its end of the field, and as Radford’s Jamie Sanders and 49er defender Matej Dekovic battled for the ball on the right side of the goal box, Sanders fell to the ground. Referee Dustin Thorne awarded Sanders a penalty kick with 30:41 left in the game.
Sanders converted, beating Pack on a low shot into the left side of the net. Radford nearly scored two more times over the next 10 minutes, hitting the crossbar both times.
“We held them to one shot, and then they got the penalty (kick) and it seemed to galvanize them,” Langan said of Radford. “Our team showed its mental toughness after that.”
The 49ers settled down for the final 20 minutes and eventually got the game-winner.
Radford had averaged 17 shots a game this season, but Charlotte limited the Big South Conference regular-season champs to six attempts Thursday night.
“They were a lively team,” Langan said of the Highlanders. “They had patterns, but we did a good job of breaking it up.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 10:12 PM with the headline "Brandt Bronico’s goal lifts Charlotte 49ers past Radford 2-1 in NCAAs."