MONROE, La. – Freshman Jemma Purfield (Cottingham, England) scored with 46 seconds left in double overtime to give the University of South Alabama soccer team a 3-2 victory over Louisiana-Monroe Sunday afternoon at the ULM Soccer Complex.

Junior Monique Autmon (Ocean Springs, Miss.) and sophomore Chardé Hannah (Tupelo, Miss.) also scored for the Jaguars who stayed unbeaten in Sun Belt Conference play at 3-0 and 9-2-1 overall. The Warhawks drop their fourth straight to fall to 6-8-1 and 0-4.

"I want to congratulate Louisiana-Monroe on an extremely well-played game," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "That's is a very heart-breaking result for them in a game they deserved to get something from. All credit to Coach (Roberto) Mazza and his girls, because they gave everything they had today and were very unfortunate.

"It was a game where we had plenty of chances to win in regulation, but failed to be clinical in both penalty areas. It was very similar to Friday night, and if we're going to continue to challenge for championships and improve our national ranking, then we need to be more clinical in the attacking penalty area."

South Alabama fell victim to another late goal – almost identical to Friday's contest at Louisiana-Lafayette – and was forced to win it in overtime. UL Monroe's Cke'Lana Caesar headed in a cross from Antonia Land at the 84:32 mark to knot the score at 2-2.

"We have to make sure we're switched on for 90 minutes," Winkworth said. "We switched off on a set piece, just like Friday night, so we have to stay focused defending our set pieces. We have to improve in that area for sure."

The Jags outshot the Warhawks 5-1 in the 19-plus minutes after regulation, and put two of their first four shots in overtime on frame before Purfield took a through-ball from sophomore Steffi Hardy (Workington, England) and slotted it home.

"We didn't come here to try and get a tie – I'm not a firm believer in playing for ties – so in overtime we turned up the intensity a notch and were patient because it took 119 minutes or so to get the winner," Winkworth said. "Steffi played a nice ball in and Jemma got on the end of it and it was a very composed finish."

The shots were 29-9 overall in favor of USA, but only 13 of the Jaguars' attempts found the target. ULM was much more efficient offensively, putting eight of its nine shots on net.

"They were very efficient in their forward play, and like I said, they were very unlucky because even though the shot count says 29-9, the shots that really count are the ones that work the goalkeepers, and we only led that 13-8, which is far closer. If we're going to be successful, we need to make sure that we're limiting the scoring opportunities for our opponents and not getting shots on our goal, and we need to make sure we hit the frame when we're going forward as well. These are two areas that we must focus on in preparation for a very tough week at home coming up."

Autmon scored the only goal of the first half in the 21st minute, her second of the season from junior Emily Farrell (Burnley, England). ULM's Kelley O'Dwyer tied the match just over five minutes into the second period at 50:07, then Hannah converted a breakaway in the 65th minute to put the Jags back on top.

Sophomore Courtney Baum (Cumming, Ga.), making her first start in net since Sept. 20 at Southern Miss, allowed both goals and made six saves for the Jags. Brooke-Lynn Scroggins had 10 saves for the Warhawks.

South Alabama returns home this weekend, hosting Appalachian State Friday night at 7 p.m., and Texas State Sunday at 1 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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