FOLEY, Ala. – The University of South Alabama soccer team got first-half strikes from freshman Ana Helmert and senior Rio Hardy to cruise to a 2-0 victory over Appalachian State Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament held at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex.

The Jaguars improve to 12-5-1 while the Mountaineers end their season at 4-11-4.

GAME FACTS
- After a quiet first 30 minutes, Helmert was left wide open in the middle of the 18-yard box after a pass from Hardy, and calmly beat the Appalachian State goalkeeper into the lower right corner at 32:11
- Hardy added to the Jags' lead at 43:05, beating the Mountaineer goalkeeper at the near post
- South Alabama held a 10-2 advantage in shots at halftime, including a 6-1 edge in shots on goal
- Freshman Selma Bjorgvinsdottir had a chance to make it a 3-0 contest early in the second half but missed high on her penalty kick
- The Jags outshot the Mountaineers 10-1 in the second half, and put five of those attempts on net, but was unable to seriously test Taylor Ray
- Ray made eight saves for App, while her counterpart, sophomore Justice Stanford, had one save
- USA senior Danielle Henley recorded eight shots, with four of those hitting the target

NOTES
- Helmert's goal was her first since scoring a brace on Sept. 7 against Southeastern Louisiana
- Hardy, the Sun Belt Player of the Year, now has 96 career points, and has set a new personal best with her 13th goal this season
- South Alabama is unbeaten in its last 13 Sun Belt Tournament games dating back to 2013
- The Jaguars have blanked their last three opponents, their longest shutout streak of the season, and have six clean sheets in 2017
- Stanford now has 16 career shutouts, two shy of fourth in school history
- Hardy has tallied three points or more six times this season
- Hardy moved into a tie for 10th in school history with her 16th career assist
- The Jaguars are 49-6-4 in games against conference schools (regular season and tournament) in the last five seasons
- South Alabama leads the series with Appalachian State 4-0-1, with two wins coming in postseason play
- Wednesday marked the third straight year the two schools have met in the SBC Tournament
- The Jaguars have 39 shutouts in the last four seasons, the most by any Sun Belt school
- The Mountaineers are the third Jaguar opponent to record one shot on goal or fewer this year

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richard Moodie
On the conditions: "It did alter play quite a bit. The field altered play quite a bit, believe it or not, with the length of the grass. When we were trying to play against the wind with the ball on the ground, it was a little slower. With the wind in the second half, it helped us a lot. They struggled to get out and when we weren't taking chances, we were able to put pressure on them with a simple long ball over the top."

On what he wants to change going into Friday: "We'd love to convert more chances into goals. We wasted and squandered a lot of chances in the final third, but it's good to see some players get minutes. In tournament play, there's no such thing as a bad win. We'll take all of the positives and move on. We'll try to fix the little negative things going into Little Rock. It looked like a tournament game – scrappy at times – but we're thankful to get out with a win."

UP NEXT
The Jaguars will take on No. 5 seed Little Rock on Friday at 4 p.m.

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

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