Charlotte, N.C. -- No. 14 Charlotte scored three unanswered goals, including two in the second half, to rally past 22nd-ranked Furman 3-1 in the opening round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championships on Thursday evening at Transamerica Field.

The 49ers, 14-4-2 on the season, advanced to face the 11th-seeded UAB Blazers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at 8 p.m. EST on Sunday in Birmingham, Ala.  Furman finished its season at 14-4-4.

"I'm very proud of our players, especially our seniors," said Paladin coach Doug Allison.  "Alec Kann did a great job for us and Martin Ontiveros scored a very nice goal.  Charlotte is a great team, and after seeing them play, it's easy to understand why they are unbeaten at home."

The Paladins took the lead at the 18:11 mark when Coleton Henning drew a foul at the top of the box and Martin Ontiveros drilled a bending free kick into the upper left-hand corner for his sixth goal of the season.

Charlotte notched the equalizer at the 28:31 mark on Giuseppe Gentile's team-leading eighth goal of the season.  Thomas Allen sent a free kick into the box and Gentile flicked a shot with the heel of his boot inside the far, right post to knot the match at 1-1.

After an evenly played first half, Charlotte outshot Furman 7-3 over the final 45 minutes and created the majority of the chances.  The 49ers netted the eventual match-winning goal in the 68th minute when a collision in the box sent two players to the ground, but Charlotte's T.J. Beaulieu recovered to gain possession and slot a shot to the lower left corner past Furman goalkeeper Alec Kann.

Furman began to send long balls forward in the final 15 minutes and were caught on the counter attack at 83:07.  Beaulieu lofted a pass down the middle to Jennings Rex who slipped between two defenders and slotted a shot to the left side for his fourth goal of the season.

Charlotte managed a 14-9 edge in shot attempts, including 5-4 advantage in shots on goal.  The 49ers earned four corner kicks to just one for the Paladins.