MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama soccer team will close out the 2016 home schedule this weekend, hoping to end a recent two-game skid at The Cage.

Friday's contest against Texas State will start at 7 p.m. and the game Sunday against Coastal Carolina will kick off at 1 p.m. Both games can be seen for free on JagNationTV.com.

Sunday will be Senior Day for the Jaguars; the program will honor its four seniors – Monique Autmon, Emily Farrell, Sarah Hay and Nikki Shirtcliffe – in a ceremony before the game. The four have been a part of three Sun Belt Conference championship teams and made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

Last weekend marked the first consecutive losses for the program since 2013, and Friday's defeat ended a seven-match win streak overall, and a 33-match unbeaten run against conference schools.

"Looking back at last week, we've had a chance to look at the games again and to be honest, we controlled both matches for pretty much 90 minutes, we did not take advantage in both penalty areas," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "We've got to be more clinical in the attacking penalty area and we've got to erase individual errors in the defensive penalty area.

"Outside of those, I thought we were good both games last weekend and shouldn't lose too much confidence in the way we're playing. That's a good thing going into this weekend. We're having some reality knocked into a few players this week; there will be no problem getting their attention and focus going into what is a tough weekend against the third- and first-ranked teams in the league. We have lots to play for."

The Jags (9-4-1, 4-2) put up just their second multi-goal game since the start of September on Sunday against Louisiana-Lafayette but it wasn't enough as the Ragin' Cajuns scored three times – the most allowed at home since 2013 – in a 3-2 win.

Offensively, USA outshot Troy and ULL 41-18, but only put 15 of those attempts on net.

"In the Troy game, we didn't really make any errors when it came to the goal," Winkworth said. "They put in a cross, it got flicked on by a Troy player, Jana (Loeber) put out her leg instinctively, got a deflection on the ball, sort of half-clearing it, then the girl hits it first-time and scored a great goal. She controlled it very well, so all credit to her for that strike. In the Louisiana-Lafayette game, we knew that set pieces were going to be an issue. They scored on a corner kick, which we didn't defend very well, they scored on a throw-in, which we defended appallingly, and they scored on a wonder strike.

"Outside of that, they never looked like scoring. It's hard to say that, really, but we outpassed a team 4-to-1, outshot a team in a similar sort of fashion as well and controlled the match. The game was lost or won in both penalty areas, so that has to be an area of focus this weekend, plus our attitudes of having that will to score, putting our nose in the way of a ball, even if it means it's going to hurt, and being brave, not being afraid to miss or have the goalkeeper make the save. Also, focusing on our technique to make sure we hit the target. With as many shots as we had, when only a third of them are on frame, that's not good enough either."

After a 2-0 start to the league season, Texas State (6-7-2, 3-3-1) is just 1-3-1 in its last five outings. However, each loss was by the same 1-0 scoreline, and the win came in overtime at UL Lafayette.

The Bobcats are one of the toughest defensive teams in the Sun Belt, ranking third in both goals allowed (0.86) and goals against average (0.81).

"They're a good team," Winkworth said. "The top goal scorer in the league last year (Lauren Prater) is back. They have lots of goal threats, so we'll have to be aware of that, even though we've shut out some good teams this season. They've got a lot of returning players so they're a veteran team. They'll be a real threat coming in here on Friday, so we're expecting a tough challenge. I'm hoping for the crowd to be our 12th player."

Coastal Carolina (8-4-2, 5-1-1) enters the weekend as the Sun Belt leader in the standings, four points clear of South Alabama. Since dropping three straight in early September, the Chanticleers have earned points in seven of their last eight contests, including six victories.

CCU is second in the league in both scoring (1.69) and defense (0.77), and is tied for the top spot with eight shutouts.

Daniella Famili, who had at least a point in three straight wins over Georgia Southern, Texas State and Louisiana-Monroe, is tied for third in points per game (0.92) and fourth in goals per game (0.38).

"They're scoring a lot of goals from a lot of areas, which is something we pride ourselves on as well," said Winkworth. "They have a lot of firepower and are probably the most athletic team in the league, including ourselves. They're a big, strong, athletic team that are quite direct in their play, but have been successful. They don't concede many goals either."

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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