MOBILE, Ala. – Louisiana-Lafayette scored the tying goal with less than four minutes left to ruin the University of South Alabama soccer team's eight-match win streak in a goal-filled 4-4 draw Sunday afternoon at The Cage.

The Jaguars – whose unbeaten run stays alive at nine – earn a point and currently stand at 10-2-1 overall and 2-0-1 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Ragin' Cajuns move to 5-6-2 and 0-3-1.

Louisiana-Lafayette rallied from an early two-goal deficit to take the lead, only to see South Alabama score twice and go up 4-3 before the final tally.

"Today was not our best performance," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "I'm proud of the girls' work ethic; they worked extremely hard, but I've got to do much better. We tied 4-4 against a very good and very enthusiastic Louisiana-Lafayette team, so I want to give them a lot of praise, but we've got to perform better and I've got to do a better job of preparing them to do that."

ULL's Annika Schmidt took advantage of a turnover in USA's half and beat the goalkeeper with a long shot at 86:18 to knot the score at 4-4. Schmidt came off the bench to score two goals and added an assist.

The Jaguars found the net twice in the opening 20 minutes to take a 2-0 lead. Freshman Steffi Hardy (Workington, England) headed in a free kick from sophomore Nikki Shirtcliffe (Burnley, England) at 15:43, and freshman Chardé Hannah (Tupelo, England) received a clearing pass from freshman Danielle Henley (Hattiesburg, Miss.) and beat the oncoming goalkeeper.

The Ragin' Cajuns pulled one back on a penalty kick and scored on either side of halftime to take the lead. Schmidt corralled a loose ball at the top of the box that bounced off a USA defender and put it past the keeper at 43:08, before assisting on a goal 47 seconds into the second half. The Jags mishit a clearance attempt that went straight to Schmidt. Schmidt passed it over to Bailey Scott who slotted it home.

Less than 10 minutes later, freshman Rio Hardy (Workington, England) converted from the spot to pull even again, and in the 71st minute, Hannah looked to put South Alabama on top for good when she took the ball down the right side and cut back toward the middle before shooting.

"The team's got a lot of character," Winkworth said. "We're young; we started six freshmen and four sophomores, but these are the character-building performances that are going to help us, not only later in the season, but for the future of this program."

USA outshot ULL 5-2 in the two extra periods, including one that hit the crossbar, plus another crossing attempt that grazed the bar.

"Honestly I think we should have had a few more," Winkworth stated. "We hit the bar three times so lady luck wasn't on our side today either, but we've got to be more clinical in front of goal. I know we scored four goals but again, I've got to do a better job of preparing our attacking players in front of goal."

Sophomore Sarah Hay (Waxahachie, Texas) went the distance in goal for the Jags, allowing four goals with three saves. The Cajuns' Alexias Stricklin and Lindsey Stocks gave up two goals apiece and made two and four saves, respectively.

With their five-match homestand completed, the Jaguars head to Texas State Friday for a 7 p.m. match.

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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