Mount Pleasant, SC – Junior Hamilton Carlin scored in the 19th minute and goalie Kevin Shields made six of his seven saves in the second half as the Cougars of the College of Charleston handed the 22nd-ranked Hofstra Pride their first Colonial Athletic Association loss of the season with a 1-0 victory at the Patriots Point Athletics Complex Saturday night.

The CAA-leading Pride of Hofstra saw their two-game winning streak snapped as they slip to 10-4-0 overall and 5-1 in the conference. Charleston, which ended a three-game winless skid, improved to 6-5-2 on the year and 3-1-1 in the CAA.

The Charleston victory was the first over Hofstra as the all-time series that started in 2013 now stands at 1-1-1. The Senior Night victory for the Cougars was also Charleston Head Coach Ralph Lundy's 300th career victory.

Hofstra, after allowing the only goal of the contest in the first half, dominated play in the final 45 minutes, outshooting the Cougars, 13-3 in the second half and 15-6 for the game. The Pride also had all seven of their corner kicks in the second half while Charleston had all five of its corners in the first 45 minutes.

Hofstra had two solid chances in the first 15 minutes, both by CAA points leader senior Joseph Holland, to put the Pride on the board. In the 13th minute, Holland took a direct kick from outside the box that Shields punched out. Less than a minute later, Holland fired another shot that the Cougar defense blocked away.

But it was the Cougars who got on the board first in the 19th minute. Charleston senior forward Adam Purvis sent a cross from the left side to Carlin, who headed the ball into the upper left corner for a 1-0 lead. It was the Cougars first shot of the game and Carlin's second goal of the year.

Junior Adan Noel had another good chance for Charleston in the 31st minute when he ran through the Pride defense into the box but booted a shot over the net. The Cougars outshot the Pride, 3-2 in the first 45 minutes. It was just the second time all season that the Pride trailed their opponent at halftime.

Hofstra came out on attack in the second half, dominating the final 45 minutes and had several opportunities to tie the game. The Pride had a good shot in the 49th minute when the ball squirted across the box in front of the goal to Pride junior Harri Hawkins. Hawkins' shot from six yards out was cleared off the goal line by a Charleston defender to preserve the 1-0 score. It was Charleston's second defensive save of the contest.

In the 81st minute, Holland fired a free kick from outside the box that was saved by Shields. Four minutes later, Hofstra had perhaps its best opportunity when a pass from inside the box to the right post went too far for a sliding Pride attacker.

Despite keeping the ball in the Charleston half for much of the second half including most of the final 12 minutes, the Pride had to defend two counter-attacks in the final two minutes, resulting in a one-on-one save by Hofstra senior goalkeeper Patric Pray and a missed an open net off a pass across the goal by Noel. Pray's stop was his only save of the contest

Holland finished the contest with five shots, including three on-goal, while junior midfielder Andreas Iosifides had three shots with two on-goal for the Pride.

The Pride return to action on Monday, October 19 when they face 13th-ranked Coastal Carolina University (9-1-1) in Conway, South Carolina at 6 p.m.