#1 South Alabama (11-5-1, 9-1) vs. #8 Appalachian State (4-10-4, 3-5-2)
Nov. 1, 2017 • 1 p.m. • Foley Sports Tourism Complex (500) • Foley, Ala.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Richard Moodie (Carson-Newman, 2006)
Record at USA: 11-5-1 (1st year)
Overall Record: 59-44-8 (6th year)

Appalachian St.
Sarah Strickland (George Mason, 1998)
Record at App: 61-69-22 (8th year)
Overall Record: Same

SERIES INFORMATION
South Alabama leads 4-1-1.

Current winning streak: USA, 2 wins
App State's last win in series: 4-3 (10/23/16) in Boone
Last meeting: South Alabama 2, Appalachian State 1 2OT (9/15/17)
Last meeting in SBC Tournament: USA 2, App 2 2OT (11/6/15)
USA's record at neutral site: 0-0-1
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 2 / 1
Notes: The schools split two meetings last year, with App State edging out South Alabama 4-3 in double overtime in Boone, and the Jaguars getting revenge with a 6-0 victory in the Sun Belt Tournament… The previous meeting in the Sun Belt Tournament ended in a 2-2 tie, with the Jags advancing 10-9 on penalty kicks… Earlier this season in Mobile, South Alabama scored with 93 seconds left in regulation to send the game into extra time, before winning in double overtime.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Video
http://es.pn/2gXEXkg
Live stats
http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=192501

WEDNESDAY'S GAME
South Alabama will be going for its fifth straight Sun Belt Tournament title, which would be a new league record. Denver won four straight from 2006-09.

USA's last defeat in the tournament came in 2012 to Middle Tennessee (2-1).

The Jaguars extended their record run of regular-season titles to four on Friday with a 1-0 defeat of Little Rock.

Kory Dixon has scored two goals this season, and both of them have been game winners. She scored in double overtime vs. Appalachian State on Sept. 15, and scored with 4:44 left in regulation on Friday against Little Rock.

The Jags' 2-0 victory over Texas State on Oct. 22 was South Alabama's second game decided by more than one goal since Sept. 7.

The Jaguars haven't given up multiple goals in a game since a 2-1 defeat to Alabama on Sept. 1, a span of 13 games, which is the longest stretch in school history.

The Jaguars have outshot their opponent 13 times in their last 15 games.

USA is 3-0-1 in overtime games this season (3-0 in Sun Belt play). Last year, the Jags went 0-3-1 in extra time.

USA is 7-1 in one-goal games this season since starting the year 0-3.

The Jaguars are 48-6-4 in games against conference schools (regular season and tournament) in the last five seasons.

Rio Hardy has 20 points in her last eight games, and nine goals in her last eight outings.

On Oct. 22, Hardy claimed the school record for career game-winning goals with 13, passing Cindy Rainville. She is second to Rainville in school history in both goals (39) and points (93).

Hardy leads the conference in points (27), goals (12) and game-winning goals (5). She has tied her career high in goals, set in her freshman season of 2014.

Hardy is tied for seventh among all active Division I players with 39 career goals, and tied for 11th with 92 points.

Last year's 6-0 Jaguar win over the Mountaineers in the SBC Tournament was the biggest shutout victory in USA's postseason history, and tied the school's biggest margin of victory.

USA is averaging 3.2 goals in the last five games against Appalachian State, with a high of six in last year's Sun Belt Tournament.

Appalachian State is 2-0-1 in its last three games after going 0-4-1 in its previous five.

Kat Greer, who scored the Mountaineers' goal vs. the Jaguars in September, is 10th in the league in goals per game (0.29).

MOODIE'S QUOTES ON THE WEEKEND
On the tournament: "It's an exciting time for the girls. I love tournament time. Obviously I'm excited to be a part of the Sun Belt Tournament. I've heard nothing but good things about the event and we're thankful that we had an opportunity to go down there for preseason. Going in as the No. 1 seed is great. Having the accolades we've accomplished so far is great, but now a new season starts Wednesday, and that's how the girls have to look at it. We never want to put the stress on them that we need to win, we just have to focus on the way we play and improve on how we played on Friday. Even though we won the conference, we weren't happy with how we played, so we have to get that right going into the tournament."

On extra momentum from win Friday: "Yes, especially with the way we played against Arkansas State. It wasn't our best performance but we managed to find a way to win. That's the sign of a championship team. We were able to grind it out and I'm just thankful we didn't go into extra time because Little Rock looked fantastic. We're excited the way we got it done. The best attribute that we have is that we know we're good enough to beat everyone, but we also respect them and know they're good enough to beat us."

On benefits of having experienced team: "Games like Texas State are the reason you feel so confident. One, as a coaching staff, we've all been a part of a championship team. We know how to win championships. And two, you have half a team that have been there before too. We have the knowledge and the mentality to win these games. It's a massive pro for us to have girls that have been here and in this environment. They know how to win the games, they've been on these fields and they've beaten these teams. They want to come in and win their fourth and the program's fifth consecutive Sun Belt Tournament trophy."

On what he learned from first Appalachian State game: "We learned how difficult the conference was going to be. We left that game, first of all, thankful that we were able to get a result out of it with a minute and 33 seconds left. We also learned to never give up. That set the tone for the season. We often refer to that game as the moment that changed us. No disrespect to them, but you look at how they went on with their season, and how we went on – that could've been two different teams there. They could've gone on to have the success we had, and we could've been the No. 8 team going into this. That is a moment that changed us as a team. We play every game respecting the opposition, but we never have any doubt in our mind that we can ever come back. We've been in every possible situation this year and the girls have found ways to win."

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).

Join the Upper 90 Club, the soccer specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All gifts to the Upper 90 Club go directly to support the South Alabama soccer program. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/upper90

—USA—