Michael Raggett converted a penalty kick at the 95:50 mark in overtime to seal an exciting comeback, propelling the third-seeded Charlotte 49ers past the sixth-seeded FIU Panthers 4-3 on Friday night in the opening round of the American Men’s Soccer Championship.
With the win, Charlotte improved to 9-3-4 on the season and advanced to face No. 2 Missouri State in the semifinals. The dramatic finish unfolded at campus sites before the tournament shifts to the home site of the top seed in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The 49ers opened the scoring in the 37th minute when Wiktor Pucilowski fired in an unassisted shot for his third goal of the year, sending Charlotte into the break with a 1-0 advantage. FIU responded aggressively after the break, as Santi Possu tied the match 1-1 in the 48th minute with a penalty kick.
The Panthers Strike Back
FIU claimed a 2-1 advantage off an own goal in the 51st minute. Possu struck again in the 59th minute, taking an assist from Raúl Carrasco to extend the Panthers’ lead to 3-1.
Down by two goals on their home turf, the 49ers started their comeback in the 69th minute as Natsuki Ogata put away his fifth goal of the campaign off a feed from Raggett. With only minutes remaining and the score at 3-2, Charlotte secured the tying goal with 88:15 on the clock when Larry Noel deposited his 10th goal of the season off passes from Pucilowski and Andreas Evangelou, pushing the match into an extra period.
Raggett Scores Decisive Penalty Kick in Overtime Victory
During the overtime period, the intensity grew until an infraction for a handball inside the penalty area set up the game-winning penalty kick.
Charlotte goalkeeper Alex Svetanoff earned the win with 3 saves, while Van Haveren collected 5 saves for the Panthers in the hard-fought loss. The 49ers now advance to play No. 2 Missouri State on Wednesday, November 11, at 4:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. CT in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with coverage on ESPN+.
