MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama soccer team shut out Alabama-Birmingham 2-0 Sunday afternoon in a friendly at Sage Park.

Sunday's match – consisting of three 30-minute periods – concluded the Jaguars' exhibition season; the 2016 campaign will officially commence 7 p.m. Friday against Samford at The Cage.

"To be honest, I don't think we settled into the game very quickly at all," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "We didn't warm up particularly well, so that's on me. I thought we took that slackness into the match and did not start well. UAB had a couple of chances early on, but once we settled, I thought we were the better team toward the end of the first period, and then went on and took control of the remainder of the match.

"I think we've shown in the two games that we've got a lot of depth. Our seven goals came from seven different scorers, so that's a nice problem to have as a coach – we can score from all areas. Defensively we kept two clean sheets and that's very important. Other than one big save Sarah (Hay) made, our goalkeepers have not been tested. I've been happy with our team defending, but some of our individual defending needs to improve."

Midway through the first period, after freshman Kory Dixon (Roanoke, Texas) was fouled, junior Chelsea Followwell's free kick found the head of sophomore Hannah Godfrey (Thornton-Cleveleys, England), who put it home.

"With it being an exhibition game, I wasn't expecting to receive so many free kicks," Winkworth said. "Fortunately Kory did some nice work down the wing and won us a free kick. It was an excellent delivery from Chelsea and Hannah leapt like a salmon to head it back the way it came."

The Jags doubled their lead early in the second when senior Nikki Shirtcliffe (Burnley, England) converted from the right wing.

"We were passing the ball around the midfield, Danielle put one out wide and Nikki drilled it into the top far corner."

Senior Sarah Hay (Waxahatchie, Texas) and freshman Justice Stanford (The Colony, Texas) combined on the clean sheet, playing 45 minutes each.

"Both did very well," Winkworth stated. "I was happy with their performance. They didn't put a foot wrong and weren't really tested, other than the one save. Both were very solid and it's a good problem to have early in the season."

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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