No. 2 Charlotte Wins 2023 American Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship

DALLAS, Texas – The Charlotte 49ers men’s soccer teams used a 2-1 victory over top-seeded SMU to win the 2023 American Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship and earn their first American Athletic Conference championship in their second year in the league.

With the win, Charlotte (12-3-1) earn The American’s automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship. The selection show is Monday, November 13 at 1 p.m. ET on NCAA.com. SMU moves to 13-2-2 in the loss.

Charlotte got on the board first as Ian Pilcher took a free kick pass from Matthew Kirk and snuck the goal in past SMU goalkeeper Cole Johnson’s right foot.

Two minutes later, Jelldrik Dallmann was taken down in the box while going for a header, resulting in a penalty kick for the SMU graduate student, who promptly sunk the PK to even the score.

In the 54^th minute, Charlotte’s Brandon Morales took a deflected shot attempt and sent home in the top right corner of the goal to give the 49ers the lead and the win.

Charlotte goalkeeper Leo Stritter would take on a flurry of Mustang attacks in the final 30 minutes of the match but prevented any further goals.

2023 American Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship Schedule
First round at campus sites
Semifinals and final at home site of the No. 1 seed SMU
(all times Eastern)

First Round – Sunday, November 5
Game 1 – No. 6 Florida Atlantic 1, No. 3 FIU 0
Game 2 – No. 4 Memphis 3, No. 5 South Florida 2

Semifinals – Thursday, November 9
Game 3 – No. 2 Charlotte 3, No. 6 Florida Atlantic 1
Game 4 – No. 1 SMU 3, No. 4 Memphis 0

Championship Final – Sunday, November 12
Game 5 – No. 2 Charlotte 2, No. 1 SMU 1