Box Score

STARKVILLE, Miss. – A late goal from sophomore Ashlynn Jones (Pickerington, Ohio) broke a 0-0 tie to give the University of South Alabama soccer team a season-opening 1-0 victory at Mississippi State Friday night at the MSU Soccer Field.

The Jaguars increased their regular-season win streak to 19 and claimed their third straight triumph over the Bulldogs.

"I'm obviously very happy to come away with the win," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "It's always nice to go to an SEC team on the road and pick up points. I was a little disappointed with our performance from an aesthetic standpoint; I prefer to play a more attractive style of soccer, but in all fairness, Mississippi State made it extremely difficult with their style and I thought we defended like warriors tonight."

Jones' goal came in the 82nd minute off a cross from junior Nikki Shirtcliffe (Burnley, England). Jones was left wide open just outside the six-yard box and bodied the pass in to put the Jags ahead.

"I'm really pleased for Ashlynn," Winkworth said. "She's waited a long time to make her collegiate debut, so for her to score on her first appearance at South Alabama, we are delighted as a staff and as a team to have her as a Jaguar. I'm sure she's going to be a huge asset to the team. She's going to be a good teammate and I'm excited for her and I'm excited for the team as a whole."

The Bulldogs controlled much of the first half, outshooting the Jaguars 11-5 with a 6-1 advantage in shots on target, but junior goalkeeper Sarah Hay (Waxahachie, Texas) and the defense were able to keep MSU at bay.

"They are very dangerous on set pieces," Winkworth said. "They have a girl that can throw it a mile, and if we weren't able to win that first ball, we had to make sure we jumped on the second ball, and I thought we did a good job of that. Our goalkeeper did a good job pulling off a couple of big saves as well. It was a case of just jumping on second balls, and unfortunately, where we were forced to defend with so many numbers at times, it did not allow us to play a more attractive style out of the back. That made the game a little ugly, but at the same time, we did what we needed to do to get a result in a difficult environment because Mississippi State will win a lot of games this season."

The shots tally was closer after intermission—9-6 in favor of MSU—but the Jags put two shots on frame compared to the Bulldogs' one. Jones accounted for both of USA's attempts, the first at 53:05 before hitting the back of the net 8 ½ minutes from the final whistle.

"We tried to play a little more out of the back (in the second half); we weren't launching every goal kick straight down the middle," Winkworth said. "I thought that gave us a little more space in the middle. We played a team that packed the midfield, so there wasn't a lot of space to play soccer, but I thought we did a better job of playing out the back and neutralizing the space behind their fullbacks a little more."

Hay finished the match with six saves while playing all 90 minutes. Tanya de Souza made two stops and allowed the one goal.

South Alabama travels to Samford Sunday for a 6 p.m. kickoff.

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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