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Brandi Fontaine
Charlotte 49ers Director of Athletics Mike Hill announced the hiring of two-time Big South Coach of the Year Brandi Fontaine as the 49ers' women's soccer coach on May 19, 2022. Fontaine is the fifth head coach in Charlotte women's soccer history and is entering her fourth season leading the Green and White in 2025.
Fontaine guided the 49ers to a strong defensive season in 2024, posting eight clean sheets to tie for the ninth-most in a single season in program history. Combined with the nine shutouts from 2023, the 17 total clean sheets in a two-year span are the most Charlotte has had in a two-year stretch since having 22 shutouts across the 2009-10 seasons. Emma Wakeman played all of the minutes in net for those 17 combined clean sheets and leaves the 49ers under Fontaine as one of Charlotte's greatest goalkeepers, finishing second in program history in career save percentage and goals against average, and the only keeper in CLT history with a career GAA under 1.00 and save percentage north of .810. One of those clean sheets came against No. 25 Clemson, marking Charlotte's first result against a ranked opponent in a 0-0 draw with the Tigers. Charlotte also played and scored against No. 25 NC State and No. 15 Memphis, marking the first time the Green and White have scored goals against two ranked opponents in the same season since the 2011 campaign.
In Fontaine's second season in 2023, and the Niners' first as a member of the American Athletic Conference, Charlotte had one of its best defensive seasons in a long time, allowing just 16 goals and posting nine shutouts for the fewest goals allowed and most shutouts in a single season since 2009 (not including the 2020 season played in the spring of 2021). The nine shutouts are tied for the fifth-most in a single season while the team's 0.80 goals against average was the third-best and the save percentage of .845 tops CLT's all-time single-season save percentage list. The Niners posted four consecutive shutouts for the first time since the 2010 season and picked up the last in a 5-0 victory over East Carolina in the American Athletic Conference quarterfinals - tied for the most postseason goals the Niners have ever scored.
Fontaine finished her first season in the Queen City, and Charlotte's final in Conference USA, with a splash in the C-USA Tournament by knocking off regular-season champs and No. 1 seed Rice in the quarterfinals. It was just the third time in Conference USA history the eighth seed had beaten the top seed, with one other time coming at the hands of the Niners as well. Charlotte's victory over Rice to cap off Fontaine's first season also kept the program's streak of every head coach winning their first postseason match alive.
In between her first two seasons leading Charlotte, Fontaine led a contingent of players Down Under to Australia to explore Sydney and attend FIFA Women's World Cup matches. The team also participated in player-led training sessions and volunteered at a local park with a youth soccer club as part of the trip.
Fontaine came to the Queen City after 13 years at High Point University, with the last four spent as the Panthers' head coach. As the leader of the Panthers, she took HPU to a pair of Big South regular-season championships, a Big South Conference Tournament title to reach the 2021 NCAA Tournament, and the highest rankings in program history. She led High Point to unbeaten Big South campaigns in back-to-back seasons in 2019 and 2020 to earn Big South Coach of the Year honors to go along with the regular-season championships.
Before taking over as head coach in 2018, she served as High Point's associate head coach from 2013-2017 and was an assistant coach from 2009-12. She was a part of the coaching staff for five of HPU's seven NCAA Tournament trips and has helped the Panthers to four Big South regular-season titles and five tournament championships. Fontaine was part of a coaching staff that set program records for wins in a season (13, twice), conference wins in a season (8, four times), and longest winning streak (10, 2020-21), accomplishing three of the four eight-win seasons and the longest winning streak as the head coach.
Fontaine started her coaching career as an assistant coach in 2008 for one season at her alma mater, Francis Marion University. A three-year letterwinner for the Patriots, Fontaine (formerly Sutphin) played in 33 career matches with 20 starts, recording three goals and 11 assists. She served as team captain during her senior season and ranked in the top 25 in the nation in assists as a junior.
She began her college career at West Virginia University, playing in five games as a freshman for a Mountaineer squad that went 15-6-0 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Fontaine earned a bachelor's degree in mass communication from Francis Marion in December 2007 and a Master of Science in Sports Management from American Public University in 2010.
A native of Davidsonville, Maryland, Fontaine is a product of South River High School located in Edgewater, Maryland and holds a premier diploma from the United Soccer Coaches Association. While at High Point she was an assistant director of coaching at the Piedmont Triad Football Club, coaching five North Carolina State Cup Champions.
Fontaine and her husband, Keith, have a son, Kaden. Fontaine's twin sister, Jacque Sutphin, also played at FMU.
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