South Alabama vs. Alabama • Sept. 1, 2017 • 7:30 p.m. • The Cage (690) • Mobile, Ala.
South Alabama vs. Jacksonville State • Sept. 3, 2017 • 2:30 p.m. • The Cage (690) • Mobile, Ala.
THE SCHEDULE
Friday
Troy vs. Jacksonville State, 4 p.m.
Alabama vs. South Alabama, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday
Troy vs. Alabama, Noon
Jacksonville State vs. South Alabama, 2:30 p.m.
THE COACHES
South Alabama
Richard Moodie (Carson-Newman, 2006)
Record at USA: 0-3 (1st year)
Overall Record: 48-41-7 (6th year)
Alabama
Wes Hart (Washington, 1999)
Record at UA: 17-21-4 (3rd year)
Overall Record: Same
Jacksonville St.
Neil Macdonald (Augusta State, 1998)
Record at JSU: 30-46-7 (5th year)
Overall Record: 232-170-25 (17th year)
SERIES INFORMATION
UA: Alabama leads 7-1.
Current winning streak: Alabama, 5 wins
USA's last win in series: 1-0 (10/17/95) in Mobile
Last meeting: Alabama 9, South Alabama 0 (8/31/12)
USA's record at home: 1-3
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 1 / 5
Notes: Alabama has outscored South Alabama 19-3 during its five-match win streak in the series… The Crimson Tide's 9-0 victory in 2012 is the second biggest defeat in school history… Three of the eight meetings have been decided by a 1-0 scoreline… All but two of the games came prior to the 2004 season… Alabama won the only overtime contest between the two schools, 5-2 in 1994… The teams played twice in the 1994 campaign.
JSU: South Alabama leads 4-3-2.
Current winning streak: South Alabama, 2 wins
JSU's last win in series: 3-2 (9/19/08) in Jacksonville
Last meeting: South Alabama 4, Jacksonville State 1 (8/26/16)
USA's record at home: 2-0-2
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 2 / 1
Notes: South Alabama has won four of the last five meetings after going winless in the first four (0-2-2)… The two schools met in exhibition matches prior to the 2014 and 2015 season, both USA victories… Last year's 4-1 win by the Jaguars is the largest by either team.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Video
Alabama: http://usajaguars.com/showcase?Live=967
JSU: http://usajaguars.com/showcase?Live=968
Live stats
Alabama: http://statb.us/b/181040
JSU: http://statb.us/b/181042
THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
The last time South Alabama played Auburn and Alabama in the same season was 2009.
The Jaguars' goal Sunday vs. Murray State came via a Tiina Trutsi at the penalty spot. It was USA's first converted penalty since Jemma Purfield at Appalachian State on Oct. 23, 2016.
Trutsi's goal is the second of her career and first since her freshman year.
Trutsi, who had two of the team's five shots on goal Sunday, has combined with Chelsea Followwell for seven of the team's 10 shots on goal for the year.
South Alabama is 0-3 to start a season for the first time since 2006.
Alabama is coming off a 1-0 home victory over No. 6/4 Florida State on Sunday, its first win over a top-10 team in school history.
Friday will mark Alabama's first contest away from home this season.
Six different Alabama players have scored a goal, with three sharing the top spot with two apiece. Taylor Morgan, who recorded the match winner vs. FSU, is one of the team's co-leaders.
Jacksonville State has rebounded from a 5-1 opening-day loss to the Crimson Tide to go unbeaten in its last three outings. The Gamecocks are coming off a 0-0 home draw with Georgia State.
MOODIE QUOTES ON THE WEEKEND
On the upcoming weekend: "I'm really looking forward to the weekend. Hopefully we can have a week of practice that's not affected by the weather and get on the field. We'll start preparing for our first fixture on Friday against Alabama. It's exciting to be back at home."
On how the team is better than its 0-3 record: "We could have done this a number of ways, and you live and you learn, but we played two tough opponents on opening weekend, and with LSU and Ole Miss as exhibitions, there were no easy games. Now you say, maybe we should have done what everybody else in the country did and play an easy 8-0 win. But the schedule was made, and it was part of the reason why I wanted to come to South Alabama, and it should be the same way for our players. It is a challenging schedule, but it's one full of opportunities to be successful. We weren't expected to win the first two games, but we could have done better. The Murray State game is one that we should have won, and that's no disrespect to them. They came here and did what they needed to do. If we play our best and they play their best on the same day, we win that game. We just didn't show up. There are a lot of things that are going on behind the scenes but the girls keep trucking. At practice, we don't look like a team that's 0-3."
On preparing for Alabama: "They're a good, organized team and one that's going to come in here with their heads held high. I'm sure they think they're going to take on a South Alabama team that's deflated. I hope they think that because we're anything but that. We're full of energy and need to get going again. The big struggle right now is figuring out where our goals are coming from. The predicament we're in doesn't bother me one bit; what bothers me is the reaction and how we get out of it."
On playing your best soccer at the end of the year: "It's an interesting topic to talk about seasons and how they go. If you start strong and fade toward the end, then your season is done. If we can get going and peak at the right time before conference starts, we're going to be looking good. It's not how you start, it's how you finish. We've not had the 11 on the field that we would have wanted, but that day will come. I don't want to be the team that plays us when we do get it right because against LSU, when things were working, we looked so good. This team is capable. We have a good group here. It's not the result we wanted on the weekend, but now we need to have a bounce-back mentality."
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—
