South Alabama Hands Little Rock Second Sun Belt Loss

MOBILE, Ala. – The Little Rock soccer team saw its six-game unbeaten streak come to an end on Friday night, dropping a 5-0 game at the home of the Sun Belt Conference's regular season champion.
 
South Alabama (14-2-1, 8-0-0 Sun Belt Conference) extended its nation-best winning streak over conference opponents to 17 games with a first-half goal by Ashlynn Jones and second-half strikes by Danielle Henley and Chardé Hannah, Jones and Jemma Purfield.
 
The Trojans (8-6-4, 3-2-3), who entered the night in fifth place in the league, remained in that position despite the loss. Victories by Texas State and Appalachian State over Georgia State and Georgia Southern, respectively, ensured the two Georgia schools remained just below the Trojans in the conference standings with one game to play.
 
Little Rock closes its season on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Troy and can no longer move up in the standings before the Sun Belt Tournament begins on Nov. 4. Little Rock will be anywhere from the No. 5 seed to the No. 7 seed, guaranteeing the team's best finish in the league since at least 2008. The Trojans have never finished higher than sixth in the Sun Belt standings.
 
On Friday night in Mobile, things never got going for Little Rock. After a Caitlyn Eddy shot in the seventh minute gave the Trojans a 1-0 lead in that category, South Alabama took over and ran away with the game.
 
The Jaguars led 1-0 at halftime on Jones' goal. Jones caused a Trojan turnover at the top of the box and hammered her shot home to score what would be the game-winning goal. In the 60th minute, Henley's header found its way past goalkeeper Sara Small and into the back of the net. And in the 66th minute, Hannah iced things with a goal after a Tiina Trusti chip pass. Jones' goal came in the 80th minute and Purfield added hers in the 85th.
 
South Alabama finished the game with a 20-5 edge in shots and a 4-1 lead in corners. The five goals allowed by the Trojans is its highest total of the season and most since 2012.
 
Small finished the night with five save, eclipsing 75 on the year.
 
Little Rock closes out its regular season on Sunday, facing Troy at 1 p.m. The team will then have a week off before the Sun Belt Tournament starting Nov. 4.