OXFORD, Miss. – The University of South Alabama soccer team converted two second-half penalties – one each from junior Ana Helmert and sophomore Brenna McPartlan – to give the Jaguars a 2-1 victory over Ole Miss Sunday afternoon at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.

The Jags move to 5-2-1 on the year while the Rebels have their five-match win streak snapped to drop to 6-2.

GAME FACTS
- Ole Miss nearly got on the board midway through the first period when a header from Molly Martin was saved off the line by sophomore Tilly Wilkes
- The two teams went into halftime tied at 0-0 despite the Rebels holding an 8-5 advantage in shots and a combined seven shots on goal
- At 48:04, Helmert tucked her penalty into the upper right corner
- Thirteen minutes later, senior Briana Morris drew a penalty and McPartlan put hers into the bottom right corner for a 2-0 advantage
- The Rebels halved the lead at 64:58 after Madisyn Pezzino blasted a left-footed shot from the top of the box into the top right corner
- A bouncing effort from Sydney Michalak was saved off the crossbar by senior Justice Stanford at 68:24
- Helmert forced a diving save from Ashley Orkus in the 73rd minute
- South Alabama did not have an attempt in the final 17 minutes and were outshot 4-0 in that span, including one with 40 seconds left that was blocked by Wilkes
- Stanford made six saves, while Orkus had five
- The shots were 17-10 in favor of Ole Miss, but the shots on goal were tied 7-7

NOTES
- South Alabama has won two of the last three meetings, with both wins coming in Oxford
- Helmert's penalty was the first of her career
- McPartlan is now 3 for 5 from the spot in her two seasons, including 2 for 3 this year
- The Jaguars ended a nine-match winless streak against the SEC since 2017
- The Rebels held a 56%-44% advantage in possession
- USA's 24 goals this season matches the team's total from all of 2018

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richard Moodie
Overall thoughts: "Firstly, with everything that's been going on with (Ole Miss head coach) Matt Mott's father passing, it's been a crazy week for Ole Miss. I thought they came out and played so hard and had a lot of energy. It was an emotional game. For us, we knew we put in a good performance on Thursday and we had an extremely good Ole Miss team to try and get a result out of on Sunday. They're a fantastic team; I would say that's the best team we've played all year. They just have so many weapons. They're really well coached and an amazing team. We're thankful to get a couple of lucky breaks to beat them."

On the penalties: "Brenna is our usual penalty taker, but Anna got taken down, she took the ball and walked to the penalty spot. She seemed so confident; she didn't make a big deal out of it, just smashed it into the top corner. There was some good little bit of combination play and I thought we broke them down well and it would have led to a goal. On the next one, Briana Morris took the left back for a walkabout and managed to get in the 18-yard box where she got clobbered. A different penalty kick taker makes it difficult for the goalkeeper to figure out where we're going. Two really composed penalties in two big moments."

On Wilkes: "Tilly Wilkes was the man of the match, without a doubt. Last year we were worried she would get found out. Teams really went after her in a lot of games and didn't' realize how good of a player she is. Today she held her own against a strong and athletic team. In terms of soccer, she outplayed everybody on that side of the field. It was just a phenomenal day for her. She proved how much she's developed."

UP NEXT
The Jaguars start Sun Belt Conference play Thursday at Texas State. Match time will be 7 p.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

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