FOLEY, Ala. – The University of South Alabama soccer team got first-half strikes from freshman Ana Helmert and senior Rio Hardy to cruise to a 2-0 victory over Appalachian State Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament held at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex.
The Jaguars improve to 12-5-1 while the Mountaineers end their season at 4-11-4.
GAME FACTS
- After a quiet first 30 minutes, Helmert was left wide open in the middle of the 18-yard box after a pass from Hardy, and calmly beat the Appalachian State goalkeeper into the lower right corner at 32:11
- Hardy added to the Jags' lead at 43:05, beating the Mountaineer goalkeeper at the near post
- South Alabama held a 10-2 advantage in shots at halftime, including a 6-1 edge in shots on goal
- Freshman Selma Bjorgvinsdottir had a chance to make it a 3-0 contest early in the second half but missed high on her penalty kick
- The Jags outshot the Mountaineers 10-1 in the second half, and put five of those attempts on net, but was unable to seriously test Taylor Ray
- Ray made eight saves for App, while her counterpart, sophomore Justice Stanford, had one save
- USA senior Danielle Henley recorded eight shots, with four of those hitting the target
NOTES
- Helmert's goal was her first since scoring a brace on Sept. 7 against Southeastern Louisiana
- Hardy, the Sun Belt Player of the Year, now has 96 career points, and has set a new personal best with her 13th goal this season
- South Alabama is unbeaten in its last 13 Sun Belt Tournament games dating back to 2013
- The Jaguars have blanked their last three opponents, their longest shutout streak of the season, and have six clean sheets in 2017
- Stanford now has 16 career shutouts, two shy of fourth in school history
- Hardy has tallied three points or more six times this season
- Hardy moved into a tie for 10th in school history with her 16th career assist
- The Jaguars are 49-6-4 in games against conference schools (regular season and tournament) in the last five seasons
- South Alabama leads the series with Appalachian State 4-0-1, with two wins coming in postseason play
- Wednesday marked the third straight year the two schools have met in the SBC Tournament
- The Jaguars have 39 shutouts in the last four seasons, the most by any Sun Belt school
- The Mountaineers are the third Jaguar opponent to record one shot on goal or fewer this year
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richard Moodie
On the conditions: "It did alter play quite a bit. The field altered play quite a bit, believe it or not, with the length of the grass. When we were trying to play against the wind with the ball on the ground, it was a little slower. With the wind in the second half, it helped us a lot. They struggled to get out and when we weren't taking chances, we were able to put pressure on them with a simple long ball over the top."
On what he wants to change going into Friday: "We'd love to convert more chances into goals. We wasted and squandered a lot of chances in the final third, but it's good to see some players get minutes. In tournament play, there's no such thing as a bad win. We'll take all of the positives and move on. We'll try to fix the little negative things going into Little Rock. It looked like a tournament game – scrappy at times – but we're thankful to get out with a win."
UP NEXT
The Jaguars will take on No. 5 seed Little Rock on Friday at 4 p.m.