JONESBORO, Ark. – The University of South Alabama soccer team recorded its fifth straight shutout and got a late goal from sophomore Jemma Purfield (Cottingham, England) in defeating Arkansas State 1-0 Friday afternoon at A-State Soccer Park.

The Jaguars improve to 7-2-1 overall and 2-0 in the Sun Belt Conference, while the Red Wolves drop to 2-4-3 and 0-2-1.

"I first want to congratulate Arkansas State for a very well-organized performance," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "They sat pretty defensively and we found them very difficult to break down on what is a much smaller field than what we're used to playing on. All credit to them, but I thought we controlled the game, and in the second half, it was just a matter of time before we scored. Once we got into the final few minutes, you start to wonder if it's going to be your day or not."

South Alabama's shutout streak is the longest in school history. Four of the five victories have been by a 1-0 score.

"The defense was solid again," Winkworth noted. "We've got a great group back there and they are well organized. They communicate and haven't been putting a foot wrong. It's not like that run has come against some poor opponents; we've played the best team in the country and a team from the SEC. All credit to the girls.

"But it's not just the back four and the goalkeeper. The whole team works hard defensively and we pride ourselves on that because we feel like if we don't concede any goals, then we won't lose games and that's proven to be the case this season."

Purfield's strike came at the 87:18 mark. After junior Danielle Henley (Hattiesburg, Miss.) was taken down just outside the ASU penalty area, resulting in a yellow card, Purfield stepped up and hit a laser into the back of the net.

"It was a screamer," Winkworth said. "I get frustrated sometimes because we'll get free kicks on the edge of the area but we often kick the ball into the goalkeeper's hands. She had one earlier in the game and hit the wall. I guess she decided she was going to smack that one and it just flew into the net. I think she might have put a hole in the back of the net, she struck it so hard."

The first half resulted in just eight shots total, with the Jags holding a 5-3 advantage, but the second half was all USA. All 10 attempts in the last 45 minutes came from South Alabama, with three of those hitting the target.

"I didn't think we were being threatened too much, but I was disappointed, not just in the first half but in the entire game, how clinical we were in the final third," Winkworth said. "We had enough chances to win and we just weren't hitting the target. If we don't hit the target, we can't score goals. Once we got in the penalty area, we needed a little more composure; we don't need to take the net off.

"Jemma hit the bar with another screamer, and then you have a couple that you miss from a couple yards out and you start to wonder if it's going to be your day and if that goal is going to come. To be honest, we could have played 200 minutes today and I don't know if we would've scored in open play, with the lack of composure we were showing in the penalty area, so I'm not surprised that the game was decided on a set piece.

"However, we do have so much quality going forward, I have no worries, because I know on another day we'll take advantage of those chances. We just had an off day and we'll dust ourselves off a hopefully we can find the net more frequently in future matches."

All five shutouts in the streak have come with freshman Justice Stanford (The Colony, Texas) in net. She was not called upon to make a single save in 90 minutes. Her counterpart, Kelsey Ponder, made three stops.

On Sunday, South Alabama will go to Little Rock for a 1 p.m. kickoff.

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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