South Alabama at Southern Miss • Sept. 5, 2019 • 5 p.m. •  USM Soccer Complex (850) • Hattiesburg, Miss.
South Alabama at Southeastern Louisiana • Sept. 8, 2019 • 6 p.m. • Southeastern Soccer Complex (1,000) • Mobile, Ala.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Richard Moodie (Carson-Newman, 2006)
Record at USA: 25-15-4 (3rd year)
Overall Record: 73-54-11 (8th year)

Southern Miss
Mohammed El-Zare (Lincoln Memorial , 1992)
Record at USM: 45-56-16 (8th year)
Overall Record: Same

Southeastern La.
Christopher McBride (Martin Methodist, 2011)
Record at SU: 13-18-8 (3rd year)
Overall Record: Same

SERIES INFORMATION
USM: USA leads 10-4.

Current winning streak: South Alabama, 5 wins
Last meeting: South Alabama 4, Southern Miss 0 (9/20/15)
USA's record on the road: 4-2
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 5 / 2
Notes: USA's current win streak is the longest by either team in the series… USM has scored just two goals in the losing streak… The Jaguars won the first game in 1997, 7-0.

SELU: USA leads 6-1-1.

Current winning streak: South Alabama, 1 win
Last meeting: South Alabama 3, UAB 0 (9/7/17)
USA's record on the road: 3-0-1
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 5 / 1
Notes: The series is tied 1-1-1 in the last three meetings, which date back to 2006… South Alabama won the first five games from 1995-2005, including the first three by a combined 18-0.

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
South Alabama is unbeaten through its first four games for the first time since 2015.

The Jaguars have scored 19 goals so far in 2019, just five shy of their total from all of 2018. The 24 goals last year were the program's fewest since 2009.

USA has scored multiple goals in four straight games for the first time since 2016, and done so in the first four games of the season for the first time ever.

The Jags rank in the top 10 in the nation in points per game (13.25, 6th), goals per game (4.75, 4th) and assists per game (3.75, 7th).

A major reason behind the offensive explosion is Briana Morris, who leads the Sun Belt Conference in goals (6) and points (13). She ranks third in the nation in goals per game and 11th in points per game.

Morris has scored a goal in each of the team's four games this season, and has a six-game point streak dating back to last season. The streak is the longest by a Jag since Rio Hardy had a seven-game run in 2017.

Morris' six goals have come on just eight shots on goal.

Athanasia Moraitou paces the conference in assists (4), and has recorded at least one point in her last three outings, including a goal and an assist on Sunday vs. Stetson.

Gracie Wilson handed out two assists in her first career start vs. Jackson State, then added another in her other start vs. Stetson. She ranks in a tie for second in the league with Chloe McGlade.

McGlade has a four-match point streak entering the weekend after tallying a goal and an assist on Sunday. She has a team-high two game-winning goals (Jackson State, Stetson) and assisted on a third (UAB).

South Alabama's five-match win streak in the series with Southern Miss has come by a 18-2 goal margin, with a 10-0 differential in the last two.

All of Southern Miss' six games — including exhibitions vs. LSU and Mississippi State — have been decided by one goal.

Thursday's game will be the first between the two schools since 2015.

Southeastern Louisiana is coached by former South Alabama assistant Christopher McBride.

USA and SELU met in the 2017 regular season, a 3-0 Jaguar victory, and in an exhibition prior to the 2018 campaign. Sunday's game will be the first for the Jags in Hammond since 2007.

MOODIE'S QUOTES ON THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
On going back out on the road: "It's always tough to go on the road, but I think that, where we're at as a team, we're just excited to get back on the field together and face a new challenge. Going on the road to Southern Miss is going to be a tough game; they've had a couple of good wins so far."

On what's working offensively: "When we started the season last year, we could see that we were struggling to score goals, but it didn't stop us. We scored a lot of goals early on; in the Chattanooga game we scored six. Right now it's just one of those things, where we have so many people that are scoring goals; it doesn't fall on the shoulders of one or two individuals like last year. Goals are coming thick and fast, and Briana Morris leads the pack but we have a lot more chipping in. The confidence is one thing, but we don't have just that one individual that can score."

On the midfield creating goals: "The intensity in which they do things… From Friday to Sunday you see a small dropoff, but in terms of what we were able to field on Sunday compared to the other teams from Friday to Sunday, we're just electric. Our intensity level in the middle is far superior to anyone we've played so far. The quality in what we're doing is just fantastic; it's just relentless and they just don't go away. Now we have girls on the ball that can create opportunities for people and that may have been our downfall last year. Having so many new faces that can help do that, it helps take pressure off other people."

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—