SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. -  Charleston suffered their first loss of the 2015 season falling 45-25 on the road to #25 Shepherd University Rams at Ram Stadium on Saturday afternoon.  The game was delayed more than one hour due to inclement weather and lightning in the area.

Shepherd's CJ Davis started the game with a bang after the delay, racing 96 yards on the opening kickoff to give the Rams a 7-0 lead just 14 seconds into the contest.  Charleston answered Shepherd's early score by going 47 yards on five plays, capped off by a 24-yard touchdown reception by Joey Augustin to make it a 7-6 game.  Augustin's score was his fifth of the season in just two games.

The Golden Eagle defense struggled to get off the field on third down in the first half, allowing the Rams to extend drives by converting on six of their 10 third down opportunities in the half.  Those long drives led to 31 first half points for Shepherd including three touchdown passes from Ram quarterback, Jeff Ziemba.  UC continued to fight and it was still a two possession game going into halftime after Brett Benes converted a career-long FG of 47 yards and Jeremy Johnson scrambled for a 22-yard touchdown to trail Shepherd 31-15.

The scoring slowed down in the third with Shepherd scoring the only points in the quarter, a 41-yard touchdown pass from Ziemba to Billy Brown.  Charleston trailed by their largest margin of the day, 38-15, going into the final 15 minutes.

UC once again pulled within two scores after Mason Olszewski scampered in from four yards away to make it a 38-22 game with 10:29 left in the contest.  The Golden Eagle defense forced a three-and-out giving Charleston a shot to pull within a touchdown but the Rams picked off Olszewski and converted their third interception of Charleston quarterbacks into a touchdown, extending their lead to 45-22.  Charleston added a field goal late in the game to make the final score 45-25, the Rams handing UC their first loss of the year.

The Charleston quarterbacks finished the afternoon 19-for-42, 184 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions.  Both Johnson and Olszewski scored a touchdown on the ground.  Tevion Cappe led the ground game for the Golden Eagles, gaining 68 yards on 11 attempts.  Augustin again had an impressive afternoon despite the loss, hauling in six passes for 84 yards and a touchdown.

Torie Wagner now is the career leader in punt return and kick return yards for University of Charleston after six kickoffs for 138 total yards.

UC returns home next Saturday to host Glenville State at UC Stadium with kickoff set for 1pm.