Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – After winning its first-ever NCAA Tournament game, the University of South Alabama soccer team will meet a familiar opponent in the second round: defending national champion and host Florida State.

The Jaguars and Seminoles will kick off Friday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. CST at the Seminole Soccer Complex.

"It's very, very exciting," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "We were excited to host and knew we would have a difficult opponent in LSU, but we also felt we could compete with them and we proved that on Saturday night. It was a lot of fun.

"I've told the girls that we need to get our feet back on the ground and prepare for the next game. They can reflect and celebrate the season that they've had but not until the season is over, and let's keep it going for as long as possible."

The two schools are meeting in the postseason for the third consecutive season. The previous two meetings – occurring in the first round – ended in 5-0 wins for FSU.

"You've got to play the best teams in the country if you want to win a national championship. So, you're going to have to face them at some point. I know the score was the same last year as it was the year before, but I felt like we performed a lot better last year, and I was pleased with our first-half performance.

"As a team and as a coach, it's exciting to have that sort of challenge and opportunity."

South Alabama enters with an 18-2-2 record and has not lost since a 2-1 defeat at No. 9 Auburn on Sept. 13, a span of 15 matches. Florida State, ranked No. 2 in the nation, enters at 15-2-4 and defeated Evansville in its first-round matchup after winning the ACC title on penalty kicks over No. 1 Virginia.

"The thing that impresses me most is that they don't really have any weak links," Winkworth noted. "So if we're going to put in a quality performance against them, it's very important that we can't have four or five of our players show up on Friday afternoon, our whole team has to show up. If they do, we can certainly prepare to give Florida State a quality game, and then, you never know."

The 4-0 win over LSU in the first round marked the sixth straight game South Alabama had scored multiple goals, and the Jags have found the net 26 times in its last six games. FSU has scored two or more in each of its last four outings after getting blanked in back-to-back contests by No. 7 Virginia Tech and then-No. 2 Virginia.

Defensively, the Seminoles have not allowed a goal in the NCAA Tournament since 2013, and are 14th in the country in goals against average (.594).

"They've got some excellent defenders, and players that are weapons, both offensively and defensively, with international experience as well," Winkworth said. "Our young team is still getting experience all the time. The majority of our players have played in the NCAA Tournament before and at FSU before, so they know what to expect, so I don't think there will be as many butterflies as there might have been in the last two years. We're going to respect our opponent because they are No. 2 for a reason. There are Cinderellas all over the country every year, so why not us?"

The Seminoles use a balanced offensive attack; despite ranking ninth in the nation in goals per game (2.48), the highest individual ranked is 142nd. Berglind Thorvaldsdottir and Cheyna Williams share the team lead in goals with eight, and Megan Connolly is 13th in Division I with 0.56 assists per game.

"If we can keep it tight in the first half – we did that in the first half last year and didn't concede a goal for 44:21 – and maybe go into halftime level or up or down a goal, we'll be OK," Winkworth said. "The longer we keep it a close game, the more nervous they'll become. They're a passing-oriented team, but all the pressure is on them. We're going in there and can be free; we can play our game and enjoy the occasion. We can have fun and that suits our game. Florida State has got all the pressure on them, being No. 2 in the country, so the longer the game goes on close, the more nervous their passes and fans become. Hopefully we can keep the game tight and they can feel the pressure that is on them, and not us."

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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