MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama soccer team has hit the homestretch of the 2015 campaign and will close out the regular season at The Cage this weekend with a pair of home games.

The Jaguars (13-2-1, 7-0 SBC) will take on Little Rock Friday at 7 p.m. and Arkansas State Sunday at 1 p.m. Live stats for both matches will be available on USAJaguars.com.

"We've got two very tough games against much-improved Arkansas schools, and we want to finish the season on a high so we need to make sure that we're prepared, and hopefully if we do things well, we can finish the season perfect," said USA head coach Graham Winkworth.

"We've definitely shown that we've got a strong squad. It's not about the team, it's about having a strong squad, and we've shown over the last few weeks that the depth of our squad is extremely important. We've not really had a full squad to choose from since the opening weekend of the conference season. Last weekend we were missing some key players and we managed to grind out a couple of results. It's going to be tough this coming weekend with some players still unavailable, but we hope by the conference tournament we'll have everyone available to choose from."

Last weekend's double-shutout sweep of Georgia State (1-0) and Georgia Southern (1-0) clinched at least a share of the Sun Belt Conference title. The Jags need at least a tie in either of the two remaining matches to win it outright for the second consecutive season.

"Friday is a huge game because we don't want to share the title; we want it for ourselves and we want to clinch it on Friday, so that match is very important for that reason," Winkworth stated. "It also has a huge effect on our RPI; we can't afford to drop games at this point in the season when we're talking about the possibility of not only qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, but potentially hosting."

On Sunday, the program's four seniors – Alli Cochran (Chelsea, Ala.), Jordan Duncan (Bay St. Louis, Miss.), Alyssa Mayer (Birmingham, Ala.) and Nini Rabsatt-Smith (Montgomery, Ala.) – will be honored in a ceremony prior to the game. Since their arrival, the program has experienced its most successful period to date with two regular-season and tournament titles, and two trips to the NCAA Tournament.

"These young ladies have put a lot of time and work into this program in helping transform it over the last few years," Winkworth said. "We want to make sure they finish their regular-season careers on a high, have an enjoyable day and honor them, and the best way to honor them is putting on a strong performance and hopefully picking up the three points."

Friday's opponent is experiencing its best season since 2007 and comes into the game with an 8-5-4 record overall and a 3-1-3 mark in the Sun Belt. The Trojans have allowed just five goals in league play – tied for the best defensive record in the conference with Troy and South Alabama – and are unbeaten in their last six outings with wins in three of their last four games.

"They are very much improved," Winkworth noted. "They are very well-coached by Coach (Adrian) Blewitt. He has them very organized, and they've been a counter-attacking team. You don't lose games if you don't concede goals, and their defensive record is as good as ours in conference play. There's a reason for that because they're well-organized, they have a lot of talented players, they have a good goalkeeper and they're tough to play against. We have to make sure that we're creative and we work hard in the attacking part of the field, while being ready to defend, because they can hit you on the counter attack. They've scored some stunning goals this season, and they sit in the top half of the table for a reason. They deserve to be there and we know we're in for one of our toughest conference games of the season Friday night."

Arkansas State is currently on the outside looking in on the Sun Belt Tournament race, but still has a chance to make the top eight. The Red Wolves, currently 3-12-1 and 1-5-1, picked up their first Sun Belt win of the year on Oct. 11 vs. Louisiana-Monroe, but fell in overtime to rival Little Rock in their most recent outing.

"Arkansas State will be a challenge," said Winkworth. "They have some weapons that we're not used to seeing so far this season. When we played Florida State last year, they had a young lady that could hit the back post on a throw-in; Arkansas State has a player that can do the same thing with a flip throw, and that's something we need to be prepared for. Coach (Brian) Dooley is new to the program; we've seen film on them and they try to play soccer in an attractive manner. By being patient and working that way, they will have long-term positive effects and they will continue to grow as a program.

"It's also important to note that they can still qualify for the postseason; they have a lot to play for this weekend so we're expecting a tough game.

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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