Charlotte, NC - Freshman midfielder Hailey Beam's two goals in her collegiate debut paced the UNC Charlotte 49ers to a 2-1 victory over Francis Marion University, Friday evening (Aug. 25) in both team's season-openers at Transamerica Field.
Francis Marion scored the game's first goal when junior Ashley Fortune put the ball in the back of the net off a Kirby Stenard assist in the 20th minute.
Beam would then score the first of her two goals when Ashley Rex passed the ball to Kelsie Ormsby. Ormsby then found Beam near the right post, and Beam put Ormsby's pass into the back of the net tying the game at 1-1 in the 52nd minute.
Beam scored the match-winner when she headed in Nikki Labuda's cross in the 76th minute.
"Francis Marion had a great game plan," Charlotte coach Jon Lipsitz said. "We were not allowed to play our style which is a compliment to Francis Marion and their game plan. So at halftime we made some adjustments and started putting the ball behind their back line. Then, we were able to exploit their back line and score a couple of goals."
