SAN MARCOS, Texas – University of South Alabama freshman
Chardé Hannah (Tupelo, Miss.) scored in the first overtime to lift the soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Texas State Friday night at the Texas State Soccer Complex.
The Jaguars keep their unbeaten streak alive at 10—second-longest in school history—to improve to 11-2-1 overall and 3-0-1 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Bobcats suffer their first league defeat of the season to drop to 8-4-1 and 3-1.
"I thought we did well tonight," USA head coach
Graham Winkworth said. "We've started to erase the silly errors at the back. We needed a cleansheet and I'm happy we got one tonight.
"I'm also proud of how over the last two games we've stepped up our play in overtime. That brave attitude finally got rewarded tonight."
USA outshot TXST 24-10 on the night—with 11-5 and 10-2 advantages in each half respectively—but was even 4-4 in shots on goal. Texas State entered the contest with the best defensive record in the conference, with just 10 goals allowed and a 0.91 goals against average.
"They play a good system and a lot of the shots for both teams were from distance," Winkworth said. "We knew that was going to be the case going in. They put some pressure on our shots so we weren't able to hit the target as frequently as we do normally. I told the girls that I felt we were the better team in the game. We needed to be patient and it would come, and it did.
"A lot of praise to Texas State. They're a well-coached, well-organized and talented team. They're going to be challenging at the top half of the table all season long."
Hannah's strike, her conference-best 14th of the year, came at 98:12. Freshman
Rio Hardy (Workington, England) fed Hannah, who tucked her shot from the top of the box just inside the right post.
"It was a great goal," Winkworth noted. "She played it along the 18 (yard box) and put another screamer into the net. She's a handful and people could double or triple team her, but the good thing is, when teams do that, it opens up space for other players. We're not a one-player team; we have a lot of talent on this roster. She's obviously one of the very talented players on the team and is on form. She gets a lot of chances because she works hard for them and she's playing with talented players."
Sophomore
Sarah Hay (Waxahachie, Texas) made four stops in net for the Jaguars for her sixth cleansheet of the year and the team's eighth. She made three saves in the first half but the Jaguar defense kept the Bobcats from putting a shot on goal in the second period.
"We had a lot more communication tonight in the back," Winkworth stated. "I think we managed to keep the ball in front of us very well and we kept our shape very well. The chances they had were mostly from distance. We still have to improve on a few areas at the back, but we'll have another opportunity to do that on Sunday."
South Alabama takes a day off before traveling to Appalachian State Sunday for a noon CDT kickoff.
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).
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