MOBILE, Ala. – Holders of a four-game win streak, the University of South Alabama soccer team will go on the road for its first two road Sun Belt Conference games this weekend.

The Jaguars (6-2-1, 1-0 SBC) will face Arkansas State on Friday at 3 p.m. and Little Rock Sunday at 1 p.m.

"We look forward to road trips. It's an opportunity for the team to continue their bonding," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "We're going to do a few things while we're away to increase the family feel amongst us. Hopefully we can have a couple of good games against the Arkansas schools."

After scoring just four goals combined in its previous four games – albeit against two schools from the SEC and one against top-ranked Florida State – South Alabama exploded for a season-high five Sunday against Georgia Southern, with junior Rio Hardy (Workington, England) providing her second brace of the year.

"I think we've been due a game like that," Winkworth said. "We've had games against Samford, Auburn and Mississippi State, where we've come up against excellent goalkeeping and the crossbar has not been our friend. But everything seemed to fall into place on Sunday afternoon against Georgia Southern. It was nice to get goals from four different players."

Junior Chardé Hannah (Tupelo, Miss.), who scored the game-winner Sunday, needs one goal to tie for second at South Alabama for a career (34). Her strike against Georgia Southern tied her for third in points with 81, and she is one shy of the top spot in game-winning goals (11).

On the other end of the pitch, the USA defense has recorded four straight shutouts for the first time since 2011. The team leads the Sun Belt in goals against average (0.52) and is tied for the top spot in shutouts (5).

Individually, freshman Justice Stanford (The Colony, Texas) is third in the nation in save percentage (.962), fifth in goals against average (0.20) and 22nd in shutouts (4).

"We have more competition in those places than we've ever had before," Winkworth said. "We don't have any weak players in the lineup or coming off the bench. We have a lot of intelligent players. Jana (Loeber) and Hannah (Godfrey) are two very smart players, Alexis (Jordan) gives us that athleticism, Jemma (Purfield) is obviously a leader and very talented all-round, and Steffi (Hardy) is back as well now. We have so much quality and depth, so we feel pretty good about that area of the field right now."

Arkansas State (2-3-3, 0-1-1 SBC) has won just two league games in the last two seasons, but picked up a 1-1 draw at Troy on Sunday. The Red Wolves rank at the bottom of the conference in scoring (0.88 gpg), but goalkeeper Kelsey Ponder is first in saves per game (7.88) and fourth in save percentage (.851).

"I do respect the fact that they try to play soccer in an attractive manner, and that's always good to see from any team," Winkworth stated. "They've kept it very tight defensively and did an excellent job containing one of the top teams in the league in Troy, on the road after a long trip to Coastal Carolina. They're going to be ready for us and they won't be an easy game; there are no easy games in our league, so we have to make sure we're mentally ready a tough weekend throughout."

South Alabama has won the last six meetings with Little Rock (6-4, 1-1 SBC), outscoring the Trojans 22-3 over that span. This season, LR has picked up wins over Kansas State and Memphis, fell 1-0 to No. 14 Texas A&M, and has won three of its last four outings.

The Trojans are fourth in the league in scoring (1.50 gpg) and tied for second in goals allowed (8).

"Little Rock are similar to last year, but have a lot more depth," Winkworth noted. "They have a good team, like last year, but they have more of them. He's rotated his squad quite a lot and they've got a lot of good players. It will be a challenging game to go to Little Rock for their home opener in the league. They picked up an excellent result against Louisiana-Lafayette on the road this past weekend, so we know we're in for a huge challenge against a team that will be at the positive end of the table come the end of the year."

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).

—USA—