MOBILE, Ala. – In its third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament, the University of South Alabama will host its first postseason game Saturday at The Cage against LSU.

Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Live stats will be available but there will be no video stream.

The two schools are meeting for the 10th time in their history, but first since 2010. The Tigers hold a 5-4 advantage and have won the last three by a combined 13-0.

"We're excited," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said about the upcoming game. "Our form has been good in recent matches; our performance on Sunday in the final was as good as it's been all year. We're playing a good style of soccer and scoring lots of goals.

"Both teams are on form and full of confidence so it should be a good matchup and hopefully entertaining. If we can get a good crowd in, it should be fun for them to watch two of the stronger teams in the Southeast go head-to-head."

South Alabama earned the Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid for the third year in a row after a 4-0 defeat of Georgia State in the finals. The Jags have not lost in their last 14 outings.

That unbeaten run is largely thanks to the offense that has poured in 22 goals in the last five games, including a season-high-tying seven in the quarterfinals vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, and ranks fourth in Division I in scoring offense (2.71) and points (7.95), and seventh in assists (2.52).

The LSU defense is ninth in the SEC and 119th in the nation in goals against average (1.090).

"It will be an interesting matchup because they do have some good players back there," Winkworth said. "Their captain, Alex Arlitt, is an exceptional defender. They've been playing some very good teams in the SEC, so to have the defensive record that they've got in that league is still good because the standard of opponent is very strong. So they will be very difficult to break down, but we have a lot of talent going forward, so hopefully it will be a good battle between our attacking players and their defensive players."

After going 1-3-1 over a five-game stretch in late September and early October, LSU (13-5-4) went unbeaten in six straight games (5-0-1) after that, culminating in a trip to the SEC Tournament semifinals.

The Tigers are making their fifth NCAA appearance since 2007, and first since 2011. LSU has increased their win total by eight after going just 5-13-2 last season.

"They have a lot of pace and international experience and obviously a lot of talent," Winkworth said. "Those are three things I feel we also have. It could be an interesting game for that reason."

A focal point for the Jaguar defense will be stopping Jorian Baucom, who ranks second in the SEC and 21st in the nation in goals per game (0.71) and third in the league in in points per contest (1.52). Eleven of her 15 goals came before the end of September and she went without a point in the SEC Tournament after finding the net three times in the final two games of the regular season.

"She is one of the more talented attacking players in the country," Winkworth said. "We don't see strikers like that every week, so we have to be mentally switched on at all times.

"It will be an interesting battle because in Nini (Rabsatt-Smith) and Steffi (Hardy), we've got two of the best central defenders in the country. That will be an area of the field that will be an interesting matchup. Nini and Steffi are as talented as LSU are. Steffi was the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year and that could have easily been Nini as well. We feel good about how we match up in that department against anybody."

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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