MOBILE, Ala. – Four points clear of second-place Texas State with two matches left to play, the University of South Alabama soccer team can clinch its first Sun Belt Conference regular-season title since 2000 with a win this weekend at Arkansas State or Arkansas-Little Rock.

The Jaguars face Arkansas State (4-12, 1-6 SBC) Friday at 2 p.m. and wrap up the regular season against Arkansas-Little Rock (11-5-1, 2-4-1 SBC) Sunday at 1 p.m. Live video of both games will be available for a fee from the host institution.

USA's unbeaten run was extended to 13 last weekend after a pair of home shutout wins over Georgia Southern and Georgia State, and the team enters Friday's match with a 14-2-1 record overall and a 6-0-1 mark in league play.

"Obviously we've been on a good run and it's good to have that momentum and confidence," Jaguar head coach Graham Winkworth said. "I was pleased with the performance on Sunday defensively; we were very solid, so to have a strong defensive performance at this stage of the season is very important to us.

"At the same time, we have two games that are very different and difficult this coming weekend. Both schools are far better than their league standings suggest and they're both difficult places to go and play; they're both very good on their home fields. Arkansas State's field looks a little smaller than some of the others we've played on, so that will be another challenge for us, and playing on a turf field at Arkansas-Little Rock is something different as well."

A victory would give South Alabama its first outright Sun Belt championship in program history, and second overall. The Jaguars also claimed the title in 2000.

"We respect every opponent and both programs are very solid teams and have a lot of individual talent as well," Winkworth said. "We'll have the same routine that we've been doing every other week—same Monday through Thursday—and hopefully we can show up and put in a good performance in on Friday afternoon."

The Jags swept the weekend series with Georgia Southern and Georgia State on the strength of two goals from Sun Belt Player of the Week Chardé Hannah (Tupelo, Miss.) and one from Jordan Duncan (Bay St. Louis, Miss.), but it was the defense that had its best outings since before the league season began. USA held its two opponents to a combined 13 shots overall and five on goal, while racking up its conference-best ninth and 10th shutouts of the season.

South Alabama's goals against average of 0.80 tops the Sun Belt, as does its shutout total of 10. Sophomore Sarah Hay (Waxahachie, Texas) leads the league individually in GAA (0.74), save percentage (.851) and shutouts per game (0.62).

"Defense is an area we've focused on lately," Winkworth said. "After the Louisiana-Lafayette game, we went back to basics defensively. We conceded a few opportunities against Appalachian State as well in a difficult environment. I was a bit frustrated with some of our defending against Georgia Southern, despite keeping a clean sheet, but I thought we responded magnificently on Sunday, not only limiting the number of shots on goal to one, but also limiting the total shots period. If the opponent isn't taking shots, then they won't score too many goals. A lot of credit to our team defending on Sunday."

The Red Wolves have won just a single conference game (2-1 at Louisiana-Monroe), but three of their six losses have been by one goal, including a late 2-1 loss at UALR in their last outing. ASU ranks near the bottom of the league in goals (1.50 pg) and goals against average (2.11).

"They're getting a few players back; they've been unfortunate with the injury bug earlier this season," Winkworth said. "Loren Mitchell is a big threat for them and she's been playing more recently. Coach (Tafadzwa) Ziyenge's squad is better than their results have suggested, and their early-season results show that. They're going to be fighting for their lives; they need a victory on Friday to keep their conference tournament chances alive, so we know we'll be in for a big challenge. They attack with a lot of numbers so we have to be focused defensively and be a difficult team to break down."

Sunday's opponent opened the 2014 season with nine straight wins while allowing just two goals, but the Trojans have come back to earth since the commencement of the league campaign, going 0-4-1 to start Sun Belt play before recent wins over ULM and Arkansas State.

However, UALR has four players in the conference's top 10 in goals and points per game, led by Fali Garuba, who ranks third (0.50) and fourth (1.31) in those categories, respectively.

"It'll be the last game of the season so there will be a lot riding on it, potentially for us, but also for UALR as well," Winkworth noted. "I know that Coach (Adrian) Blewitt is very astute tactically; he'll have his team set up defensively and will be very difficult to break down. It's important to be patient with our attacking and not get frustrated. We will create opportunities—very few teams stop us from creating chances—we just have to make sure that when we do create them, we're very critical in front of goal, and make sure defensively we are focused at all times and ready to defend when UALR comes forward."

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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