MURFREESBORO, Tenn. ? The University of South Alabama soccer team dropped its second-consecutive conference match Sunday afternoon, falling to Middle Tennessee 4-0 in Murfreesboro.

“We dug a hole that was hard to get out of, and didn’t play as hard as we needed to play to win,” USA head coach Mike Varga said. “We played better in the second half. We had a couple of chances early in the second half that we needed to finish and did not.”

The Blue Raiders took a 1-0 lead at the 24:08 mark of the first half off a header from Jennifer Threlkeld.

MT’s Shan Jones increased the lead to 2-0 with a breakaway goal at the 28:35 mark of the first half on an assist by Threlkeld.

Middle Tennessee (6-4-2, 4-0) took a 3-0 lead on a one-timer by Vanessa Mueggler at the 79:09 mark of the second half.

The Blue Raiders rounded out the scoring in the match on a goal by Hope Suominen at the 81:38 mark of the second half.

MT’s Kimberly Farrant recorded assists on both of the Blue Raiders’ second-half goals.

Middle Tennessee attempted 12 shots on goal in the match, while USA attempted five. With the loss, the Jags drop to 4-8 on the season and 2-2 in Sun Belt Conference play.

USA will return to SBC action at home Friday, Oct. 10, against North Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).