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EMERSON, Ga. – After falling behind early, the University of South Alabama soccer team equalized shortly thereafter and poured on five second-half goals to defeat Louisiana-Lafayette 7-1 Wednesday at LakePoint Sporting Community to reach the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

The victory, the program's largest ever in the postseason, gives the Jaguars a 16-2-1 overall record and a date with No. 4 seed Appalachian State Friday at 3 p.m. CST.

"I thought we did well," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "We started off a bit slowly, getting used to the change in surface, but I thought the girls handled it very well. Overall, I was pleased with the result and the performance wasn't too bad at all.

"Appalachian is a very good team. They have a lot of depth and use a lot of numbers. They work extremely hard and are well-coached, so I think it will be a very tough game."

In addition to the largest tournament win ever, South Alabama scored its most goals in Sun Belt Tournament history and matched their season high set back in August against Tennessee-Martin.

Sophomore Ashlynn Jones (Pickerington, Ohio) recorded a second-half brace, opening the scoring after halftime in the 57th minute on a breakaway, taking a long pass from senior Nini Rabsatt-Smith (Montgomery, Ala.) over the top of the ULL defense and putting her low shot past the keeper.

Just over 4 ½ minutes later, Jones corralled a pass from freshman Jemma Purfield (Cottingham, England) and drove it into the left side of the net to put the Jaguars up 4-1.

"She was huge for us today," Winkworth said. "I thought it was unfortunate that she wasn't an all-conference selection, so she really sent a message today and was fantastic. She managed to get in behind the defense, showed her pace and had some really well-taken finishes."

USA's fifth goal started on its backline after junior goalkeeper Sarah Hay (Waxahachie, Texas) gathered a ULL free kick. She distributed it to Purfield, who fed Jones in the middle of the pitch. Jones passed to senior Jordan Duncan (Bay St. Louis, Miss.), who slipped a pass by the defender to sophomore Danielle Henley (Hattiesburg, Miss.). Henley converted from just inside the 18-yard box past an on-rushing goalkeeper.

A Sophie Haywood (Hull, England) through-ball split two defenders and found Duncan, who one-timed it into the net at 75:34, and junior Anisa Patterson (Ventura, Calif.) finished off the scoring at 83:08 off a deflected ball from junior Nikki Shirtcliffe (Burnley, England).

"What pleased me is the level of play didn't drop once we made a number of changes," Winkworth stated. "I thought it was good that we were able to get everybody some playing time and we continued to play attractive soccer even after making a lot of changes. It just shows that team is not about whoever starts the match, but it's a squad game and I was really pleased with the squad overall today."

Sophomore Rio Hardy (Workington, England) headed home a cross from senior Alyssa Mayer (Birmingham, Ala.) just 1:35 after the Cajuns took an early lead on a loose ball in the goalmouth following a throw-in. Sophomore Chardé Hannah (Tupelo, Miss.) added her team-best eighth goal of the year in the 29th minute on a breakaway from sophomore Steffi Hardy (Workington, England) to give the Jaguars the lead for good.

Of the Jaguars' 16 shots, 13 found the target, with seven coming in the second half. South Alabama has scored 16 goals in its last three outings.

"We've been playing well offensively but part of it is how the opponent will line up against us," Winkworth said. "UL Lafayette played a very high line today so when we get in behind it's a little easier to hit the target than it is when you're shooting from long distances."

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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