ATLANTA – Senior Nini Rabsatt-Smith (Montgomery, Ala.) scored late in the second half to give the University of South Alabama soccer team a 1-0 victory at Georgia State Friday night at the GSU Soccer Complex.

The Jaguars have won seven straight matches and are unbeaten in their last eight contests; they improve to 12-2-1 overall on the season and 6-0 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Panthers fall to 8-4-3 and 2-3-1.

"I thought we did alright; we were a little slow in the first half and lacked a little bit of energy," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "We talked about that at halftime and I thought the girls responded very well in the second half, controlled the tempo of the game and got their rewards."

The win marks the fourth time in the last five games South Alabama has scored either in the last 11 minutes or in overtime to keep their win streak alive. The Jags have won 16 consecutive games against league opponents, the longest current run in Division I.

"Tuesday's when we do our fitness is certainly being effective at the moment," Winkworth said. "Also from a character standpoint, we never stop, we never quit, and we're going to grind out a result.

"I was talking to the assistant coaches on the sideline and I said we might have to make a change here or there because we didn't come here for a draw – I'm not a believer in playing for a draw – and we were brave and continued to attack. I felt that in the second half, the girls got rewarded."

Rabsatt-Smith scored the only goal of the match at 79:42, converting a corner kick from sophomore Chelsea Followwell (Sachse, Texas).

"Chelsea put in a lovely ball – she put in two or three, to be fair to her in the second half – similar to what Jemma (Purfield) was putting in on the other side, and Nini leapt like a salmon, got her head on it, and got us the three points."

Georgia State got off two late shots in an attempt to tie, at 80:41 and 86:36, but neither found the target.

USA won the shots battle 16-7 – 9-3 in the second half alone – and held a 7-3 margin on goal. Senior Jordan Duncan (Bay St. Louis, Miss) and sophomore Sophie Haywood (Hull, England) each put two attempts on net.

Junior Sarah Hay (Waxahachie, Texas) had three saves for her fourth clean sheet of the season and the Jaguars' sixth as a team.

"We worked extremely hard, and I thought defensively we were very solid," Winkworth stated. "We limited their shots, they didn't get in behind us and were strong from front to back. I'm proud of the girls' efforts."

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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