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MOBILE, Ala. – After an early University of South Alabama goal, Louisiana-Lafayette scored three unanswered and held on to defeat the Jaguar soccer team 3-2 Sunday at The Cage.

The Jags, who entered the weekend on a seven-match win streak, have now lost two in a row, and fall to 9-4-1 overall and 4-2 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Ragin' Cajuns improve to 7-7-1 and 3-3-1.

"Our team is struggling – we're getting thrown all sorts of adversity," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "We had it against Auburn and Mississippi State, and we had it again today. We're struggling to deal when we have that kind of adversity and there's not a lot we can do about it. But at the same time, as much as we can focus on things like that, we've still got to take care of our own roles and responsibilities, and we didn't do that today."

South Alabama outshot UL Lafayette 28-12 on the afternoon, and held a 17-4 margin on corner kicks, but only managed to put 10 on target, and hit the post twice.

Sophomore Jemma Purfield (Cottingham, England) had a team-high seven attempts, with four of those on net, including one goal.

"We generated a lot of opportunities, we just didn't hit the target enough," Winkworth said. "Ten out of 28 were on frame today and that's a very disappointing count, so we'll have to work on that this week as well."

Senior Monique Autmon (Ocean Springs, Miss.) got the Jags on the board early, converting a pass from junior Ashlynn Jones (Pickerington, Ohio) at 13:43.

The lead lasted until the final minutes of the first half. Haley Boroch got on the end of a loose ball after a corner kick, and tied the game at 1-1 with 1:46 left before halftime.

"It absolutely changed the game completely," Winkworth said. "They were awarded a corner kick at the end of the half – I'm trying to figure out who it came off of – and it changed the momentum of the game. Right before halftime is a bad time to concede."

It took almost 11 minutes into the second half for the Ragin' Cajuns to break the tie. Yazmin Montoya dribbled down the middle of the field and lifted a shot just over USA goalkeeper Justice Stanford (The Colony, Texas) that hit the underside of the crossbar.

Just under 14 minutes later, Whitney Taggert stretched the lead to 3-1 when an Ashleigh Cade throw-in made it all the way to the back post.

The three goals allowed are the most at The Cage since giving up four in a 4-4 tie to Louisiana-Lafayette in 2014.

"I've got to look at all the goals we've conceded and see where mistakes were made because conceding three goals at home is unacceptable, particularly when you've shut out really strong opponents earlier in the season," Winkworth noted. "We have to brush ourselves off and work harder during the week. I've got to do a better job as well, and hopefully we can return next week with a better home weekend."

USA threw everyone forward in the final moments and pulled one back with 6:03 left in the contest on a free kick from Purfield, her fifth of the season. The Jags got three shots off in the final five minutes, including two on goal, but was unable to tie the game. Purfield forced ULL goalkeeper Cosette Morche into a leaping save on a direct kick at the top of the 18-yard box with 43 seconds left.

Morche made eight saves for the Cajuns – five in the second half alone – while facing 18 shots after intermission. Stanford made four saves for the Jaguars.

South Alabama will close out the 2016 home schedule this weekend with games against Texas State on Friday and Coastal Carolina on Sunday.

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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