CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Charlotte women’s soccer climbed into a second-place tie in the Conference USA standings after posting its third-straight clean sheet, blanking Southern Miss 1-0 Sunday afternoon at Transamerica Field.

“All wins are big but this was a huge win for us,” head coach John Cullen said. “We knew Southern Miss would be a good, gritty team and defensively sound behind the ball. We knew they needed points but both teams needed points for different reasons. Big win and a great way to finish off the weekend.”

The 49ers, who have not conceded a goal in the last 353:59, came out of the second half scoreless deadlock with a more aggressive offensive attack. Charlotte (9-5-1, 5-1-1 C-USA) outshot the Golden Eagles 15-to-1 in the final 45 minutes and eventually snapped the deadlock in the 67th minute.

As the Niners were pushing forward, junior Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year candidate Martha Thomas, was creating havoc in the final third for the Southern Miss (7-6-1, 1-5-1 C-USA) back line. She attempted to split a pair of defenders but was tripped on an apparent tackle inside the 18-yard box, awarding her a penalty kick try.

Thomas toed the spot and slotted the ball past Brittany Taylor for her team-leading ninth score of the campaign at 66:58 and just her second game winner of the season. Thomas’ goal is the 33rd of her career, inching her closer to the school’s all-time record of 39 set by Whitney Weinraub (2007-10).

“These Sunday games are hard. Especially at 1:00. It’s tough to get the body and mind going. I think we wanted to do the right thing but were a little tired in our decision making and movement of the ball. We tweaked the shape in the second half so we could retain the ball high up the field. We put a player alongside Martha and that helped. The intensity wasn’t very different but the decision making was better.”

Although she did not have any saves for the second-straight match, redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Anna Shelden picked up her third-consecutive clean sheet, all in C-USA play, and fourth overall this fall. The Charlotte defensive unit remained stout in front of her, limiting the Golden Eagles to only four shots on the afternoon.

“We’re super excited,” Shelden said. “As a team, it’s our clean sheet. It starts at the top and it’s an all-around team effort for our clean sheets – three in a row. Our team is coming together. I see our team dynamic improving game-by-game.”

Thomas finished with six attempts, three on goal, to extend her career shots record to 208, a mark she established in Friday’s triumph over Louisiana Tech. Senior Katie O’Neill, playing in her final home regular-season contest, added five shots and freshman Megan Green contributed four attempts.

Karen Torres and Lyndsey Lee evenly split the four Southern Miss shots, while the 49ers forced Taylor into two saves.

The 49ers will hit the road for their final three regular-season matches, starting with a pair next weekend in the Lone Star State. Charlotte faces North Texas Friday in Denton, Texas, before moving on to Houston for a Sunday afternoon clash with Rice.

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