2022 C-USA Women’s Soccer Championship Central
 
CHARLOTTE – North Texas, UTSA, Florida Atlantic and Charlotte each punched their semifinal tickets after quarterfinal wins in 2022 Conference USA Women’s Soccer Championship action on Wednesday at Transamerica Field.
 
The championship action returns on Friday with a pair of semifinals, beginning with No. 2 seed North Texas taking on No. 6 seed UTSA at 4:30 p.m. ET and ending with No. 5 seed Florida Atlantic versus No. 8 seed Charlotte at 7 p.m. ET.
 
Match One: (2) North Texas 5, (7) WKU 1 | Box Score | Photo Gallery
No. 2 seed North Texas rode an early offensive surge to a 5-1 victory over No. 7 seed WKU in the opening quarterfinal of the 2022 C-USA Women’s Soccer Championship. The Mean Green recorded the most first-half goals (three) and the largest scoring margin (four) in a C-USA Tournament match in program history.  
 
Jenna Sheely earned a brace in the opening third of the match, getting the Mean Green on the board in the 14^th minute with a shot that was initially stopped by WKU’s Alexis Bach but sneaked past the keeper on the left side. In the 30^th minute, the wind aided Sheely’s cross into the upper left-hand corner for her second goal.  
 
UNT’s other goals came from C-USA Player of the Year Olivia Klein, Madison Drenowatz and Summer Brown. In the 21^st minute, Klein finished off a through ball from Taylor Tufts, giving her a league-leading ninth assist. The Mean Green tacked on a fourth in the opening minutes of the second half as Drenowatz capitalized on a defensive mishap and punched one past Bach.
 
The Hilltoppers got one back in the 54^th minute, courtesy of Kayla Meyer, who dribbled around a pair of defenders and fired one to the right of Dani Jacobson. One of UNT’s three all-freshman team honorees, Brown put a bow on the match in the 86^th minute with a screamer into the upper 90 to produce the match’s final outcome.
 
Match Two: (6) UTSA 1, (3) UAB 0 | Box Score | Photo Gallery
Anna Sutter’s 108^th minute goal lifted No. 6 seed UTSA to a 1-0 upset of No. 3 seed UAB on Wednesday afternoon. The win sends the Roadrunners into the C-USA Tournament semifinals for the first time in program history.
 
Avery Chaney served up a ball at the top of the box for Sutter, whose right-footed attempt found its way past Eve Beyer for the game-winning goal. The Roadrunners are now responsible for two of the five goals allowed by the Blazers to C-USA foes.
 
Two of the league’s top four scoring defenses were on full display as the Blazers (1.00 GAA) and Roadrunners (0.83 GAA) were scoreless in regulation. UTSA won the shot battle in the opening half by a 6-4 margin, while UAB outshot the Roadrunners 4-3 in the second half. The teams combined for just five total attempts on goal.
 
UTSA keeper Mia Krusinski stopped a season-high five shots, including a pair in overtime, to earn her fourth clean sheet on the year. In her last three starts, she has gone 245:00 without allowing a goal.
 
Match Three: (5) Florida Atlantic 4, (4) LA Tech 1 | Box Score | Photo Gallery
Quick scoring powered No. 5 seed Florida Atlantic to a 4-1 win versus No. 4 seed LA Tech on Wednesday evening. Gi Krstec netted a brace, and Luisa Daikeler assisted on a pair of goals to lead the Owls’ attack.
 
The C-USA Midfielder of the Year, Krstec found the back of the net twice in the 10^th minute, firing home a loose ball to open the scoring and letting one fly into the upper left-hand corner to double the Owls’ lead just 40 seconds later.
 
The Lady Techsters cut the deficit in half on Kalli Matlock’s 31^st minute goal, but another pair of quick scores helped FAU push its lead to 4-1 in the second half. Five minutes after Hailey Landrus buried her penalty-kick attempt, the Owls struck again as Daikeler sent a ball into the box for Bri Austin, who headed it into the upper right-hand corner.
 
FAU outshot LA Tech 18-6 in the contest and placed six attempts on frame. Owls’ netminder Lexi Gonzalez improves to 3-0 in her last three starts, owning a 0.36 goals-against average in that span and stopping eight shots.
 
Match Four: (8) Charlotte 4, (1) Rice 1 | Box Score | Photo Gallery
For the first time since 2017, the No. 8 seed advanced at the C-USA Women’s Soccer Championship as Charlotte knocked off top-seeded Rice, 4-1, behind a five-point effort for Macey Bader.  
 
The 49ers were the last program to shock the No. 1 seed five years ago, also defeating Rice by a 1-0 margin. It also improves the program’s record as the No. 8 seed at the C-USA Tournament to 3-0-2.
 
After C-USA Offensive Player of the Year Grace Collins got the Owls on the board in the 13^th minute, the 49ers found an equalizer in the 23^rd minute by way of a rocket into the lower left side of the goal from Bader. It marked Bader’s second goal of the season and just the second goal allowed by C-USA Goalkeeper of the Year Bella Killgore in her last seven matches.
 
Following a Rice own goal in the 62^nd minute, Bader found the back of the net once again with a header over Killgore in the 68^th minute. Murray diverted a pair of Owl shots on goal to maintain the two-goal advantage, and Haley Shand put the game on ice by burying a shot past Killgore to finish off a 3-on-2 opportunity.