MOBILE, Ala. – After completing its non-conference schedule with a victory against Ole Miss, the University of South Alabama soccer team will turn its attention to Sun Belt Conference play, starting Sunday at home against Georgia Southern.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at The Cage. Anyone can watch a live videostream for free at JagNationTV.com and follow via live stats on USAJaguars.com.

"We're excited because this is an opportunity to start a new season," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "It's good to get back home after a long weekend and to have the extra 2-3 days rest is great for us. We're very excited to get going.

"The break has come at a great time. We've had a couple of knocks and we should be able to get those players healthy and as close to full fitness as possible. With all of the travel that we've done, it does take it out of us, but we'll be well-rested and well-prepared, and we've got no excuses."

The Jags enter league play with a 5-2-1 record and have won five of their last six, including three in a row, all by a 1-0 score. Outside of a 2-1 double-overtime loss to Mississippi State, South Alabama has not allowed more than one goal in a game all season, and rank first in the Sun Belt in goals against average (0.59) and tied for second in shutouts (4).

Individually, freshman Justice Stanford (The Colony, Texas), in goal for the last three clean sheets, tops the conference in GAA (0.25), save percentage (.958) and shutouts per game (0.75).

"Defensively we've been very good, particularly towards the end (of the non-conference schedule)," Winkworth said. "That young back five has been phenomenal. Going forward, we need to work as hard as we did on Sunday against Ole Miss for the rest of the season. Hopefully we can continue that as the season progresses because it's a tough league."

The Jags lead the series against the Eagles 6-1 and have not allowed a goal in any of the last three meetings.

"We just try to be organized defensively," Winkworth stated. "They've had some very good players in the attacking third of the field. Obviously they've lost (Nora) El-Shami from last season who was a special player for them, but they do return a bunch of other quality players that score a lot of goals, so we know that we'll have to continue to be organized defensively."

Georgia Southern holds a 3-3-1 overall record but is 3-1 in its last four outings, with the lone loss coming to No. 14 South Florida on Sunday. During their three-match win streak, the Eagles averaged 3.33 goals per contest.

"They're playing well," Winkworth noted. "They've been playing well and they're a team that likes to play soccer the right way. I have to respect that. They do have some weapons. They've scored quite a few goals from distance and scored some crackers. We're expecting a tough game."

The Eagles are third in the league in goals per game (1.71). Melinda Lukas is tied for third in goals per outing (0.43), and seven different players have hit the back of the net.

"Like I said, they've got quite a few players returning from last season that score goals for them, and added two or three more that are chipping in goals," Winkworth said. "They do have a lot of different threats going forward, but I'm confident in our defending and I'm hoping that we'll continue to defend with the same sort of organization and passion as we did on Sunday night."

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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