TROY, Ala. – Down 2-0 after just 21 minutes, the University of South Alabama soccer team got goals from sophomore Brenna McPartlan and senior Briana Morris to earn a draw against Tennessee Tech Friday night at the Troy Soccer Complex.

The game was the season opener for both clubs.

GAME FACTS
- Tennessee Tech wasted little time in getting on the board, with Bailey Taylor putting home a pass from Cassidy Bereda at the 3:13 mark
- Kendall Powell doubled TTU's advantage 17 minutes later on an unassisted goal
- McPartlan got one back from the penalty spot in the 34th minute
- Morris pulled the Jaguars level just before halftime, knocking in a rebound off a shot from Chloe McGlade at 41:37
- The shots were just 3-1 in favor of the Jags in the first 30 min of second half, but the teams combined for seven attempts in the last 13 minutes of regulation, including three on goal in the last five
- Morris nearly ended it at 98:04 but hit the left post
- The only shot of the second overtime was by the Golden Eagles' Kendall Webb with 12 seconds left
- Morris led all players with four shots, and put two of those on goal
- USA's Justice Stanford made five saves while her counterpart, Isabelle Austin, made six stops

NOTES
- The game was delayed over 90 minutes during halftime due to bad weather
- The only previous meeting between the two schools was in 2014, also in Troy
- McPartlan's penalty was the second of her career; the first came in a 1-0 win at Appalachian State last season
- Morris has recorded a point in each of her last three outings dating back to 2018
- USA's last draw in a season opener was 0-0 at Samford in 2016
- TTU put seven of their nine shots on target
- The draw ends South Alabama's six-game win streak at the Troy Soccer Complex, but USA is still unbeaten at the facility since 2014

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richard Moodie
Overall thoughts: "It's one of those games where we came in a bit sluggish with first-game jitters and once we got settled in, I thought we controlled it for the majority of the game. I'm proud of the way the team fought back; this time last year I don't think we'd have come back from a 2-0 deficit, but we showed a lot of resilience. I'm proud of their efforts. In extra time, it could've gone both ways but I thought we had the clearer chances and probably should've capitalized."

On the comeback: "Do you know what changed? Absolutely nothing. We were just more confident as the game went on. If it takes us two goals to come back from to start playing, then we're not going to win many games. As they got comfortable and got the goal, there was a belief that we can score. Maybe we don't shoot as much as we should – it was 16-9 in shots – but we had umpteen opportunities to have a shot on goal. I'm proud of how we fought back and we easily could've won that game."

On Morris: "That's the WPSL co-Offensive Player of the Year right there. She's a problem for everybody. She never goes away and every time we get the ball going forward, she could have no energy and would still try to score for us. In the final third, she needs to work on that moment of quality a little more. Although she had the four shots, she creates half those chances by herself, and if she could just convert them, she'd be one of the top goal scorers in the country. That's not too far-fetched; she creates so many chances and has that goal-scoring instinct."

UP NEXT
The Jaguars conclude play at the Trojan Classic on Sunday against Jackson State at 11:30 a.m.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. 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—