TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The University of South Alabama soccer team held on for 60 scoreless minutes against No. 3 Florida State Sunday at the Seminole Soccer Complex, but a pair of goals in the last half hour led to 2-0 defeat.

The Seminoles remain unbeaten at 7-0-1 while the Jaguars fall to 2-5.

GAME FACTS
- Through the first 38 minutes, FSU held a 9-2 edge in shots, but failed to hit the target once; on the other end, USA freshman Brenna McPartlan forced Brooke Bollinger to make a save at 31:35
- Jaelin Howell finally put one on net in the 40th minute, and Megan Connelly made Justice Stanford make a stop two minutes later
- The Seminoles held a 12-2 shots advantage in a scoreless first half
- Florida State poured it on in the first 32 minutes of the second half, outshooting South Alabama 9-1
- FSU broke through at 62:49 on Yujie Zhao's short-range header from Gabby Carle
- Kristina Lynch hit the post with 10 minutes left, but Olivia Bergau added an insurance goal 30 seconds later, again from close range, from Kaycie Tillman
- Stanford made seven saves for the Jags, Bollinger had two

NOTES
- Florida State has been ranked in each of the last six meetings between the two schools, including five times in the top three
- The Jaguars have finished a stretch of five straight Power 5 opponents for the first time in school history
- USA has two wins in non-conference play for the second straight season; in 2017, the Jags reeled off 12 wins in their next 13 outings
- The 31 shots allowed are the most since permitting 36 against Alabama in 2012

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richard Moodie
Overall thoughts: "There's a reason why they're the No. 3 team in the country. I thought they were exceptionally good and the best team we've played, but I'm really proud of our girls' efforts to one, comprehend the game plan, and two, stick to it. For every bit of 60 minutes, we were able to hang with them, and although the stats don't show it, at least two of the four chances we had were clear shots at the top of the box. If those go in, it's a different game, but overall, what a performance and effort from us."

On the team bouncing back from a loss at Alabama: "They should've been up 1-0 in the first half; they missed a sitter. The chance we had from Tilly Wilkes was phenomenal. She hit it really well and it could've went in. We're sitting at halftime and saying, what do we want to get out of this game? If we lose 5-1 again, we've got a hard turnaround getting ready for the conference, but coming here today and putting forth the effort that these girls did, even off the back of four consecutive losses, was fantastic. We had a freshman, Kileigh Whited, that hung every bit of 90 minutes with Deyna Castellanos that's in the running for the national player of the year award and will be one of the top picks in the draft. I'm proud of where we're at, but we have to find a way to steal and goal and pinch a result."

On the team's effort: "Every single girl today did fantastic. Even the girls that didn't play were up and supportive. There was a genuine belief at halftime that we could pinch a result. Even at the end, the girls were upset that we didn't. You can work with a team like that. We just can't lose that now. We've come out of some difficult games against some tough competition. We're young and eager, but now we have to understand that it's going to take every bit of what we've put forth the last couple of weeks and more, to get a result at Appalachian State later this week."

UP NEXT
The Jaguars open their Sun Belt Conference schedule Friday at Appalachian State.

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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