MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama soccer team will look to repeat as Sun Belt Conference Tournament champions this week when the Jaguars host the event beginning Wednesday at The Cage.

USA, the overall No. 1 seed with an 8-0-1 SBC record and a 16-2-1 mark overall, will take on its first-round opponent, No. 8 seed Arkansas-Little Rock (11-7-1, 2-6-1), Wednesday night at 7 p.m.

No. 6 Georgia State and No. 3 Texas State will officially open the tournament at 10 a.m. that same day, followed by No. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette vs. No. 2 Troy at 1 p.m., and No. 5 Appalachian State vs. No. 4 Georgia Southern at 4 p.m.

Tickets for adults can be purchased for $8, while tickets for senior citizens and children are available for $5. Students from Sun Belt schools and kids under two get in free.

The Jaguars enter the tournament unbeaten in their last 15 matches and are just the fourth team to finish the league season without a loss since 2000.

"We've had, what I feel, is the best regular season in school history, so we've got a lot of confidence going into the tournament," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "The girls are playing well and we're excited that a new season begins Wednesday night and that it begins at The Cage.

"What's important for me is that the players enjoy the moment and enjoy the fact we get to host such a big occasion, because it is special to be playing in a conference tournament and they need soak up every moment of that. It's important that the girls work hard and keep their focus on the job at hand."

Wednesday will mark a rematch of the regular-season finale between the two teams, when the Jaguars defeated the Trojans 2-1 Oct. 26 in Little Rock. Junior Nini Rabsatt-Smith (Montgomery, Ala.) opened the scoring with her fifth goal of the year and freshman Rio Hardy (Workington, England) recorded the match winner four minutes after UALR equalized.

The UALR contest last week was Hardy's eighth in nine Sun Belt games with at least one point. She opened league play with a goal in her first three outings then made it six in a row with a point after an assist in her next three games. Hardy closed out the season with goals in the last two regular-season matches, and finished second on the team in goals (10) and points (28), and first in assists (8).

"Rio has come on leaps and bounds as the season has gone on," Winkworth said. "She didn't come in ready from a fitness standpoint at the beginning of the season, but she's really bought in to that side of her game and is improving all the time. She's showing what a vital contributor she is because as forwards, people focus on the goals that you score, and she definitely puts in her fair contribution from a goal-scoring standpoint, but she brings so much more. Her hold-up play, her assists and her movement are areas of the game that aren't shown statistically but are very important to our team's success and open up spaces and opportunities for other players to score goals. She's crucial to our success and we're lucky to have her."

Arkansas-Little Rock earned the No. 8 and final seed despite dropping its last three matches, including two by shutout. The Trojans started the 2014 campaign with nine straight victories in non-conference play thanks to seven shutouts, but went 2-6-1 during the league season.

"They're better than their conference position suggests," Winkworth said. "They're a very talented team and well organized. We didn't learn anything more from playing them that we didn't already know because I knew they had talent and were well coached. We still know that because last Sunday confirmed what we already knew. We're going to be ready for another big challenge, trying to break down a well-organized team defensively and make sure we're ready for the offensive threats that they have."

Fali Garuba is the team's leading scorer with nine goals and 23 points and ranks fifth in the league in both categories. Three of her five assists on the season came against league opponents, and she scored the tying goal against the Jags on Oct. 26.

"She's a very pacey, talented forward who we have to respect," Winkworth said. "She's had a very successful freshman year and Coach (Adrian) Blewitt has done a great job in having her ready for the season, but to be honest, we aren't going to focus too much on one player because Arkansas-Little Rock is full of talented players. We need to make sure we're focused for the challenge all over the field. Yes, she's a special player but they have a lot of special players on that team."

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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