MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama soccer team will play for its second consecutive Sun Belt Conference Tournament title Sunday after defeating Georgia Southern 3-0 in the semifinals Friday night at The Cage.

Freshman Rio Hardy scored a pair of second-half goals to lift the Jaguars to their third SBC Tournament title appearance.

"I thought we played very well; I thought we moved the ball around, in the first half in particular and created a few chances," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "Rio's second goal was a lovely move. I was really proud of the girls because it's some of the stuff that we've worked on. It was nice to get a cleansheet; I was pleased with that and I commend the defenders. A lot of the players that don't necessarily do the fun stuff, players like Chelsea (Followwell) and Nikki (Shirtcliffe) played exceptionally well today.

"Credit to Georgia Southern; they played some nice football and they're very well coached. There's a reason they're very highly ranked in the RPI and beat teams like Indiana this season because they've got good players and a good coach."

South Alabama will take on Troy Sunday at 1 p.m. for the championship. The Jags defeated the Trojans 2-1 earlier this season in the Sun Belt opener for both teams.

"We came here to challenge for championships and we've been fortunate enough to do that," Winkworth stated. "We're excited that we're going to have that opportunity again on Sunday."

South Alabama outshot Georgia Southern 18-11 on the night and held GS to zero shots on goal. Sophomore Sarah Hay wasn't forced to make a save but she was credited with her ninth shutout on the year and the team recorded its 11th overall to tie the school record set in 2000.

"We've given teams some goals this season and recently, and I think we kept our focus a little bit more, had a good mentality and didn't gift any goals away," Winkworth said. "If we don't give too many goals away, we're not an easy team to break down. I was pleased we didn't give Georgia Southern any goals."

USA last held an opponent without a shot on goal on Aug. 29, the second of back-to-back games without allowing an attempt on target. The Jags permitted three shots on net in the quarterfinals vs. Arkansas-Little Rock.

Hardy tallied the second multi-goal performance of her rookie campaign and her first since Sept. 7. She converted from the penalty spot at 54:18 to make the score 2-0, then hit a short cross from junior Nini Rabsatt-Smith (Montgomery, Ala.) first time past the Georgia Southern goalkeeper.

"She started off a little slow and rusty at the beginning of the game a little bit, but she grew into the game and was very strong in that second half," Winkworth noted. "It was a great second-half performance from her. It was a nice, composed finish on the penalty. The great thing about her on the penalties is, you don't know where she's going to put it; she can put them anywhere. It was a great finish on Nini's cross as well."

The Jaguars took a 1-0 lead into the halftime break after an own goal. Rabsatt-Smith's header off a corner kick was headed into GS's net by an Eagle defender.