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Julie Dirom
South Alabama
2
Winner South Alabama USA (9-7-3, 5-3-2)
1
James Madison JMU (10-6-3, 7-1-2)
Winner
South Alabama USA
(9-7-3, 5-3-2)
2
Final
1
James Madison JMU
(10-6-3, 7-1-2)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
South Alabama USA 1 0 1 2
James Madison JMU 1 0 0 1

Game Recap: Women's Soccer |

Dirom’s Overtime Olimpico Goal Advances Jags to Sun Belt Championship Final

FOLEY, Ala. – South Alabama soccer defeated No. 1 James Madison in overtime in Wednesday's Sun Belt Championship Semifinal, winning 2-1 after a brace from Julie Dirom.

SCORING MOMENTS:
  • 12' | JMU's Ginny Lacky bodied in a cross from Samantha DeGuzman.
  • 26' | Surrounded by the Dukes' back line, Zamiyah Hill passed the ball up to Dirom. Dirom then took a quick shot wide to level the match.
  • 98' | Dirom headed in a corner kick from Ava Matherne, scoring a rare Olimpico goal to clinch the Jags' victory.

KEY STATS:
  • South Alabama has not appeared in the championship final since 2021, when the Jags defeated Georgia Southern 1-0 (Nov. 7).
  • The championship berth marks USA's 10th in program history. The Jags are 8-1 in the final.
  • Chris Hennessey is the third head coach in program history to advance to the tournament final in his third year at the helm. USA's third-year coaches are 2-0 in the tournament final, claiming titles in 2015 and 2019.
  • The Jags won despite recording less possession time and fewer shots on goal.
  • Dirom entered the match without scoring since Aug. 20, when she scored USA's first goal of the year against Alabama State.
  • Matherne and Hill recorded their second assists of the year.
  • A USA player has scored a brace in back-to-back games.
  • After failing to convert a corner kick into a goal all season, the Jags have scored from them in two consecutive games. Both goals were the second of their respective matches.

QUOTED:
Head Coach Chris Hennessey:
  • "I'm incredibly proud of the group. I thought over the course of the 90 minutes, it was a really good game. Both teams gave everything. I like the way we came out – I felt we established good control toward the end of the first half. We had to settle in a little bit in the first 10-15 minutes, and then grew into the game. We created some really great chances for ourselves to score another goal, and [Mackenzie Smith] pulled off a great shot. Credit to Julie for stepping up with two goals. I could name a number of players out there, but good players step up in big moments, and it's a great day for Julie, the program and ourselves as a team."
Julie Dirom:
  • "We've been working so hard this entire season just to be able to even get to this point – to be able to play in this game. To be able to finish two chances today was just incredible, and it shows how much our team has worked hard for this moment."

UP NEXT:
South Alabama will face No. 2 Old Dominion in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Final at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, Nov. 14, at Foley Sports Tourism Complex in Foley, Ala.

FOLLOW THE JAGS:
For complete coverage of South Alabama soccer, follow the Jags on social media @SouthAlabamaSOC (Twitter), /SouthAlabamaJaguars (Facebook), @southalabamasoccer (Instagram) or visit the official home of South Alabama athletics at usajaguars.com.

—USA—
 
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