Riley Orr keeps possession of the ball. Photo by Patrick Magoon

Charlotte took their four-game win streak into Mississippi when they played Southern Miss in a tough C-USA battle. The Golden Eagles grabbed an early lead over the Niners and never looked back as Charlotte fell 1-0 on the road.

The Niners (8-4, 4-1 C-USA) were held scoreless for the third time this season and the first time in a Conference USA game. This loss marks Charlotte’s fourth loss on the road.

The lone goal of the match came in the 10th minute when Hannah Abrams delivered a pass to Olivia Durham, who maneuvered her way through the 49er defense and scored, giving the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead. After the goal was scored, the 49ers played solid defense, leaving Southern Miss with only one shot on goal the rest of the first half.

The second half went back and forth between the two teams, as both teams had scoring opportunities throughout the entire half. Starting in the 60th minute, Charlotte had three scoring opportunities in a two-minute span but all of the shots were off target.

The Niner offense had a rough time tonight trying to get scoring opportunities, as they tied a season-low three shots on target off of 12 total shots.

49er goalkeeper, Abby Stapleton, played a great game in goal, racking up five saves in the game. Stapleton recorded four of her five saves in the second half, which kept her team in the game.

Charlotte’s leading goal scorer, Megan Greene, was held to only two shots, both of which went wide of the net.

The 49ers came into this game at the top of the C-USA standings with a 4-0 record, but with this loss, they now fall into second place only behind FAU.

Charlotte will stay on the road this weekend as they take on Middle Tennessee on Sunday, Oct. 7 at 2 p.m.