MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama soccer team scored twice in the last four minutes of the first half to break open a scoreless game and finished with a 3-0 victory over Little Rock Sunday afternoon at The Cage.
The Jaguars win their fourth straight game to up their record to 12-3-2 overall and 7-1-1 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans fall to 5-7-6 and 2-3-4.
GAME FACTS
- The Jags outshot the Trojans 7-2 in the first 40 minutes of the contest but was able to put just two attempt on net
- USA finally broke through at the 41:43 mark; a shot from freshman Leandra Flury went off the crossbar and sophomore Moa Öhman headed home the rebound
- Almost three minutes later, a pass from sophomore Morgan Cross found freshman Gracie Wilson, who slotted it home for a 2-0 lead at halftime
- South Alabama continued to pepper the Little Rock goal with shots in the second half, putting four on net, but it wasn't until senior Briana Morris scored in the 84th minute that the Jaguars were able to put the game away
- The Jags held a 21-3 advantage in shots overall and 10-1 in shots on goal
- Senior Justice Stanford made one save for her eighth shutout of the season; LR's Julia Curatolo had seven stops
NOTES
- The win gives South Alabama 100 Sun Belt wins in school history; North Texas is second in conference history with 92 and Denver has 91
- USA is currently five points clear of Troy in the league standings; the Trojans have a game in hand and finish the season at Texas State on Friday and Louisiana on Sunday
- South Alabama is 20-6-1 against Little Rock; the 20 wins are the most against any opponent in school history
- Stanford's shutout was the 32nd of her career to move into third place by herself in the Sun Belt record books
- She has eight clean sheets this season, tying the second most in a single season in her career; she had 10 as a freshman in 2016
- After scoring just one goal in an eight-game span, Morris has four in her last three outings; her 13 goals on the season are tied for eighth in school history
- South Alabama leads the Sun Belt with nine shutouts on the year, and Stanford leads the league individually
- Morris is first in the conference in both goals (13) and points (28)
- Wilson has 15 points this season, the most by a Jaguar freshman since Jemma Purfield had 17 in 2015
- The Jaguars have scored three or more goals in a game nine times this season, fourth-most in school history
- USA is one away from tying the school record for most shutouts in the regular season (10)
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richard Moodie
Overall thoughts: "That was the first week where we've just had one game.