MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama freshman Ana Helmert recorded the first two goals of her career to lead the Jaguars to a 3-0 victory over Southeastern Louisiana Thursday night at The Cage.

USA (2-4) scored all three goals in the second half, and senior Rio Hardy capped off the scoring over SELU (2-4).

GAME FACTS
-South Alabama outshot Southeastern Louisiana 10-2 in the first half, but could only put two of those on target
-Freshman Selma Bjorgvinsdottir forced a diving save at 34:08 for the Jags best chance of the opening half
-The second half was much more lopsided as the Jaguars held a 15-3 shots advantage, with 10 attempts hitting the target.
-Senior Tiina Trutsi found the ball at her feet 10 yards out at the 49:22 mark, but her shot went straight to the keeper for the save, and her second attempt was blocked
-Sophomore Kory Dixon's attempt at 62:31 was saved by the on-rushing SELU keeper to preserve the 0-0 tie
-Helmert finally broke through shortly thereafter, after taking a pass from fellow freshman Ashleigh Pyle; Helmert dribbled to the edge of the box and fired her shot over the goalkeeper at 63:14
-Helmert got her second just over 20 minutes later when she collected a loose ball, dribbled to 25 yards out and drilled the underside of the crossbar
-Hardy finished off the scoring with 1:36 to play with her third of the season
-Sophomore Justice Stanford made three saves to earn her first clean sheet of the season, while her counterpart Michaela Hawthorn made nine stops

NOTES
-Hardy ties Trutsi for the team lead with three goals
-The Jaguars have 35 shutouts in the last four seasons, the most by any Sun Belt school over that span
-The last South Alabama player to record a brace for their first two career goals was Sophie Haywood in 2014
-USA put 12 of their 25 shots on net, and outshot the opposition for the fourth straight game
-Pyle's assist was the first of her career
-The Jags' 25 shots and 12 shots on goal are both season highs
-Hardy has scored three goals in a two-game span for the first time since September 2014
-Trutsi had her three-game goal streak snapped
-South Alabama ended a two-game winless streak against Southeastern Louisiana, and won for the first time since 2005

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richard Moodie
Overall thoughts on the game: "We had to be patient and the goals finally came in quick succession. I'm proud of the girls and it's good to get our first clean sheet. It's great to win at home and hopefully we can continue the mentality and win streak into Sunday and the start of conference play next week."

On the mentality of the team now: "I think it's the realization of the value of the team. We didn't have some results go our way at the start of the season, but we've played some tough competition. When they walked into preseason, we knew the value of this team; they're great individuals but they're a great team. They need that belief moving forward. We looked good in the final third; we looked dangerous. It was 25-5 on the shot count, but it could have been a lot more. We need to build on that. A freshman got on the scoresheet twice and that's a positive thing to see. We just have to keep building on good performances and good wins. It doesn't matter how you get it done, you just have to get it done."

On Ana's performance: "She was phenomenal. She comes in every week and she's like, 'I'm going to score tonight.' She's confident, a great player and definitely one for the future. She also sets a precedent for that freshmen class. They all have that same mentality of wanting to contribute and work hard. She's truly a team player. The team is always before her, but to get on the scoresheet tonight caps a great performance. Even if she hadn't, I still think she's had a great game."

On getting the first clean sheet of the season: "It was scrappy at times, but we knew it was going to be. Now we know we can do it. Our Achilles has been that mentality of, we're playing but when is the goal going to come? The main purpose tonight was keeping a clean sheet before anything else, so they did what we asked them to do. Good for Justice – maybe it should've happened a long time ago – and good for the back four. Collectively a great team performance defensively."

UP NEXT
The Jaguars wrap up non-conference play Sunday at Mississippi State at 1 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

—USA—