Game Notes

Championship Central

MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama women's soccer enters the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Championship seeded second and will face Georgia State in the tournament's opening match on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Texas State's Bobcat Soccer Complex in San Marcos.
 
USA (12-5-2, 5-2-1 SBC) defeated the Panthers, 2-1, on Oct. 10 thanks to goals from underclassman Jordan Duncan and Monique Autmon. GSU cut a two-goal Jaguar lead in half five minutes away from the final whistle, but USA held on for the win in Atlanta. The Jaguars lead the all-time series with GSU, 3-1.
 
GSU is seeded seventh in the tournament, finishing the regular season with 12 points and yielding a seeding tiebreaker to Arkansas State, which defeated the Panthers head-to-head to take the higher seed.
 
The Jaguars are 4-10 all-time at the SBC Championship and are competing in the finale for third consecutive year and 10th overall since the league added the sport in 2000.
 
First-year head coach Graham Winkworth is no stranger to the postseason, having taken his former UNA Lions to the NCAA Division II postseason each of his last four years at the institution.
 
Winkworth will look to guide South Alabama to its first victory in the SBC Championship since the 2005 season, when the club reeled off two wins before falling to North Texas in the championship match.­
 
Sun Belt Conference soccer action begins on Wednesday, Nov. 6 with four first round matches. Action will take a break on Thursday and will resume on Friday, Nov. 8 with two semifinal matches.
 
The two championship participants will have an off day on Saturday before playing the 2013 SBC Soccer Championship at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10. Sunday's championship match will be televised live for the first time in league history and will be broadcast on the Sun Belt Network.
 
All games can be watched live on www.sunbeltsports.org. The web stream for the entire tournament is provided at no charge.
 
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).