University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
Charlotte
Eastbound Golden Eagles Travel To Charlotte For First C-USA Match
9/15/2021 3:52:00 PM | Women's Soccer
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss journeys eastward to Charlotte, N.C. to take on the 49ers for its first C-USA match of the season, Thursday, Sep. 16, with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m. CT/ 7 p.m. ET.
"We are looking forward to a great match-up that represents our Golden Eagle values and style of play," said head coach Mohammed El-Zare.
"I'm really excited for tomorrow. We've had great preparation with the teams we have played leading up to conference, playing some of the top teams in the country. We have so much talent this year and if we play our game, we will have a lot of success," started Captain Macie Pennington. "Charlotte is a good team and they play similar to our style so it will be a good game. I have faith in my teammates that we will get the result."
Series History: Charlotte leads the series, 9-2-2. The first game in the series was on Sep. 27, 1998, as the Golden Eagles lost 7-0, in Charlotte.
Last Meeting: Southern Miss and UNCC last met on Oct. 11, 2019, in Charlotte as the 49ers won, 4-2.
Last Time In Hattiesburg: The last time USM and UNCC met in Hattiesburg, the Black and Gold prevailed, 1-0, on Oct. 5, 2018. Former Golden Eagle Olivia Durham scored the one goal of the game in the 10th minute after receiving the ball from then-senior Hannah Abrams.
Gritty Eagles: Since Head Coach, Mohammed El-Zare took over in December of 2012, he has started a weekly tradition of Gritty Eagle of the Week. The weekly award is given to the student-athlete who has shown passion, grit, competitiveness, hard work, and teamwork. This marks the first time under his tutelage that two student-athletes have tied for the award. Senior Ariel Diaz and freshman Lauren Bennett took home this weeks' Gritty Eagle.
To The Top: The Southern Miss soccer team is tied for 19th in the nation for points per game, standing at 9.33, with 56 points overall. They are also tied for 28th in the nation for assists per game at 2.67. In both of these NCAA statistic rankings, the Golden Eagles are above all other C-USA rivals including Rice and North Texas.
A La Orden: The Latin duo of senior Ariel Diaz and freshman Ilana Izquierdo are keeping on the heels of the C-USA statistic leaderboard as Izquierdo is second in both goals (5) and goals per game (0.83), while Diaz is second for both assists (5) and assists per game (0.83). The pair have combined to score 35% of all Southern Miss goals this season so far.
For Southern Miss Soccer updates, follow the team's Twitter account, @SouthernMissSoc, and check the main athletics site at SouthernMiss.com.
