MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama soccer team went up 2-0 in the first eight minutes then held off a hard-charging Troy side to win 2-1 Friday night at The Cage.

The Jaguars win their seventh straight match, equaling the longest streak by the program since 2005, to move to 9-2 overall and 1-0 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans have their eight-match win streak snapped to fall to 8-3, 0-1.

"It was a great result, but I know we can play a lot better than that," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "Credit Troy, they played extremely well. They caused a lot of problems and we managed to solve most of them as the game went on, and I thought the second half was much better.

"It's important to get the first win; sometimes wins come a little bit ugly and I'm pleased we got the result today."

South Alabama took advantage of a Troy miscue to get on the board then scored again off a free kick four minutes later. Troy outshot USA 9-6 the rest of the way.

Freshman Rio Hardy (Workington, England) picked up an errant back pass to Troy's goalkeeper in the fourth minute and walked it into the net for her sixth goal of the season to put the Jags up 1-0.

"We were fortunate to take advantage of an error, but you have to be in the right position and Rio was in that spot and put it away," Winkworth said. "It gave us a little bit of a lift at the beginning and we were fortunate to hold on the rest of the game."

USA doubled its lead at 7:17 when freshman Sophie Haywood (Hull, England) volleyed home a free kick from sophomore Nikki Shirtcliffe (Burnley, England).

USA was able to keep Troy from finding the net for another 75 minutes before the Trojans finally broke through. Georgia Wallis took a free kick from the top of the 18-yard box that deflected off Jaguar goalie Sarah Hay (Waxahachie, Texas) and went in.

Hay allowed her first goal since the season opener against UAB, a span of over 532 minutes. She entered the contest ranked 10th in the nation in goals against average.

Wallis' attempt was the Trojans last of the night as the Jaguars clamped down in front of their goal.

"They're a very good team and a well-coached team," Winkworth said. "They caused us a lot of problems and they'll be challenging at the top end of the table come the end of the season. They should be proud of their performance tonight."

Troy's Mikki Lewis made three stops in net and allowed both goals.

The Jaguars take a week off before resuming their league schedule at home Friday against Louisiana-Monroe at 7 p.m.

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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