BATON ROUGE, La. ? The University of South Alabama soccer team dropped its season-opener Friday night, falling to Louisiana State University 2-0 at the LSU Soccer Complex in Baton Rouge, La.

“Overall, I’m pleased with how we did,” head coach Mike Varga said. “We played toe-to-toe with one of the top teams in the southeast.  Collectively as a team, we made adjustments. We had some chances tonight where we could have scored and made it a lot more interesting game. But I’m happy with how we played and I know we can play better. Hopefully, we can learn from our mistakes and bounce back on Sunday.”

The Tigers scored the game’s first goal at the 24:02 mark of the first half when forward Rachel Yepez scored from 18 yards out on an assist from Roslyn Jones and Malorie Rutledge.

Yepez then added an unassisted goal, her second of the game, at the 60:23 mark of the second half  to put the Tigers up 2-0.

On the night, LSU out shot USA 20-3. The Tigers attempted eight shots in the first half, and 12 in the second half. USA attempted all three of its shots in the first period.

Of the Tigers 20 shots, six were on goal, with Jags senior goalkeeper Kelsie Langford collecting four saves. LSU goalkeeper Mo Isom turned back two Jaguar shots on goal of her own.

On Sunday, South Alabama will return to action in its home-opener against the University of Southern Mississippi. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at The Cage.

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).