CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Michael Raggett converted a penalty kick at the 95:50 mark in overtime to cap a thrilling comeback, lifting the third-seeded Charlotte 49ers to a 4-3 victory over the sixth-seeded FIU Panthers in the first round of the American Men's Soccer Championship on Friday night.
With the win, Charlotte improved to 9-3-4 on the season and advance to play No. 2 Missouri State on Wednesday, November 11 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Charlotte struck first in the 37th minute when Wiktor Pucilowski netted his third goal of the season unassisted to give the 49ers a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
FIU responded aggressively after the break. Santi Possu tied the match 1-1 in the 48th minute with a penalty kick. The Panthers then claimed a 2-1 advantage three minutes later off an own goal in the 51st minute. Possu struck again in the 59th minute, taking an assist from Raúl Carrasco to extend FIU's lead to 3-1.
The 49ers began their rally in the 69th minute when Natsuki Ogata scored his fifth goal of the year, assisted by Raggett. Trailing 3-2 in the waning minutes, Charlotte found the equalizer at the 88:15 mark as Larry Noel scored his 10th goal of the season, assisted by Pucilowski and Andreas Evangelou, forcing the extra period.
In the overtime session, the pressure mounted until a handball in the box resulted in the decisive penalty kick. Raggett buried the shot past FIU goalkeeper Nigel Van Haveren to secure the 4-3 victory.
Charlotte goalkeeper Alex Svetanoff earned the win with 3 saves. Van Haveren collected 5 saves for the Panthers in the hard-fought loss.
2026 American Conference Men's Soccer Championship Schedule
First round at campus sites
Semifinals and final at home site of the No. 1 seed Tulsa
First Round - Friday, November 6
Game 1 - No. 3 Charlotte 4, No. 6 FIU 3 (OT)
Game 2 - No. 5 Memphis at No. 4 Florida Atlantic | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN+
Semifinals - Wednesday, November 11
Game 3 - Game 1 winner vs No. 2 Missouri State | 3:30 p.m. CT | ESPN+
Game 4 - Game 2 winner vs No. 1 Tulsa | 7 p.m. CT| ESPN+
Championship Final - Saturday, November 14
Game 5 - Championship | 7:30 p.m. CT | ESPN+