MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama soccer team will look to continue its six-match win streak Friday when it commences the Sun Belt Conference portion of its schedule against Troy at The Cage.

Kickoff against the Trojans (8-2) will be at 7 p.m. Fans can follow the action via live stats on USAJaguars.com or on Twitter at @SouthAlabamaSoc.

The Jaguars enter league play with six straight wins, including a pair of shutout victories last weekend at the Jaguar Classic, defeating North Florida 1-0 and Francis Marion 5-0. The cleansheets are USA's sixth and seventh of the season and the Jags have allowed goals in just three of their 10 outings so far.

"I think we've got some good momentum, and not just from a win-loss standpoint but from a performance standpoint as well," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "We played pretty well on Friday. We did OK on Sunday, limiting the number of mistakes that we've been making defensively. I think we're in a good position going into conference."

Not to be outdone by South Alabama's win streak, Troy has an impressive one of their own, going unbeaten in eight straight entering Friday's match. The Trojans dropped their first two outings of the year at LSU and Louisiana Tech before winning every game since, including victories over Kennesaw State and UAB, two schools that are responsible for both of USA's losses.

"They have a lot of talented players," Winkworth said. "They have a new coach and they're playing a different style. They pass the ball around very well, which is good for our conference when teams try to play the right way. I have a lot of respect for teams that do that. It should be a good game because both teams try to play the right way so it should be an entertaining match."

The Jaguars swept the Sun Belt Player of the Week awards after two stellar performances from sophomore Sarah Hay (Waxahachie, Texas) and freshman Chardé Hannah (Tupelo, Miss.). Hay made 11 saves in the two shutout wins over the weekend while Hannah had four goals and an assist.

Hay is third in the nation in save percentage and 10th in goals against average (.321), while the Jags rank 14th in Division I in shutout percentage (.700).

The USA offense is doing its part as well, racking up 27 goals in six straight wins, and ranks sixth in the nation in scoring (3.70). Doing a bulk of that offensive output is Hannah, who has eight goals in her last five outings, including a school record-tying four on Sunday against Francis Marion.

Hannah is second in the country in points (2.70 pg), fourth in goals (1.10 pg) and 11th in game-winning goals (3).

"She's been working extremely hard," Winkworth noted. "Her movement is improving with every game; that's an area that she's really tried to focus on a little bit. She's also hitting the target more; she's been a little more greedy that she was earlier in the season, which is what I want from a center forward. She's taking shots, but she's also working the goalkeeper. You don't score unless you hit the target. I think she'd be the first person to acknowledge that we have very creative players playing around her."

South Alabama and Troy are about as familiar with each other as two teams can be. The two schools competed in each other's tournaments this season, giving each coaching staff four opportunities to scout the opposition.

"Obviously both teams know that each other are capable sides," Winkworth stated. "Troy have a lot of talented players, but I think we do as well. I'm not really sure if the fact that we've seen each other play a few times is going to make a major difference. We play different systems each game, so if teams try to prepare for one thing, we'll throw something else at them."

The Trojans also completed the weekend at the Jaguar Classic unbeaten, dropping Francis Marion 3-1 and North Florida 1-0 in double overtime behind a pair of game-winning goals from Alissa Jones. Jones is second in the league behind Hannah in goals (0.80) and points (2.00) and leads the Sun Belt in game-winning goals (5).

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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