MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama junior Rio Hardy (Workington, England) tallied a brace and the Jaguar soccer team opened Sun Belt Conference play with a 5-0 shutout of Georgia Southern Sunday at The Cage.

The Jags win their fourth in a row – all by shutout – to improve to 6-2-1 overall and 1-0 in league play. The Eagles fall to 3-4-1 and 0-2.

"It was a good performance," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "Defensively, we were solid from front to back and it was important that we maintained a high level there; we didn't take our foot off the pedal after a good game in Mississippi last weekend. Offensively I thought we showed a lot of patience today. We weren't just taking shots from anywhere, we were trying to create good, quality chances and fortunately today we were able to put a few of them away."

Hardy scored her team-leading fourth and fifth goals of the season in the second half. She headed in a cross from sophomore Jemma Purfield (Cottingham, England) at 49:26 to put the Jaguars up 3-0, then put home a loose ball just outside the 6-yard box in the 59th minute.

"She played very well and did a great job," Winkworth said. "The front three worked well together and they're improving their understanding of their movements. I'm glad that all three of them managed to get on the scoresheet and Rio grabbed a couple, so I'm pleased for her."

Junior Chardé Hannah (Tupelo, Miss.) opened the scoring early, converting a throughball from junior Danielle Henley (Hattiesburg, Miss.) in the 14th minute. Junior Ashlynn Jones (Pickerington, Ohio) doubled the lead at 27:27 when a Georgia Southern clearance went straight to her just outside the penalty area, and her low shot got past the GS goalkeeper.

The final touches on the victory came at 68:22 from junior Chelsea Followwell (Sachse, Texas).

"I've heard a few people say that we're not scoring that many goals, but when you play Ole Miss, Auburn, Samford and Florida State, you're not going to win 5-0," Winkworth said. "We've been playing well going forward in games, but today we were able to tire the opposition out; they had a game on Thursday and we didn't, so we had that extra rest. Fortunately our ball movement enabled us to create some good, quality chances."

South Alabama outshot Georgia Southern 25-2 on the contest, and put 12 attempts on net. The Eagles didn't register a shot until the 58th minute.

"We moved the ball around well, we managed some decent crosses in, got on the end of a few, and we were patient," Winkworth noted. "Defensively we were solid once again and limited their opportunities to a few long-range efforts."

Freshman Justice Stanford (The Colony, Texas) made her fourth straight start in goal and made two saves. Emily Flinn went 71 minutes for GS and made six stops while allowing all five goals.

The Jags return to the road next week, going to Arkansas State on Friday and Little Rock 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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