MOBILE, Ala. — Charde Hannah scored both goals as top-seeded South Alabama beat eighth-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock 2-1 Wednesday night at The Cage in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Soccer Tournament.
Hannah, who was named both the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, sent the Jaguars into a semifinal matchup with fourth-seeded Georgia Southern. South Alabama improved to 17-2-1.
Hannah Strikes Early
Hannah opened the scoring in the ninth minute. After her initial shot from the right side was stopped, she followed her own rebound and put it into the net. South Alabama carried the 1-0 lead into halftime.
Quick Answer After Trojans Equalize
Arkansas-Little Rock pulled even shortly after the break. Following a pair of shots that were blocked before reaching the goalkeeper, a pass over the South Alabama defense found Linnea Kogsta, who beat Jaguars goalkeeper Sarah Hay in the 49th minute.
The Jaguars regained the lead less than two minutes later. Freshman Rio Hardy played a through ball to Hannah, who got away from her defender and placed a shot into the right side of the net in the 51st minute.
Hay made two saves, one in each half, and improved to 14-1-1 in goal this season.
Winkworth Praises Opponent
“I thought it was a close and well-fought game,” South Alabama head coach Graham Winkworth said. “Arkansas-Little Rock are an extremely organized team and a very well-coached team. I have a lot of respect for my friend (Adrian Blewitt) over there. His team came out, were excellent and gave us a lot of scares.”
“We’re fortunate to go through and I was pleased with our performance but a lot of credit needs to go to Little Rock as well,” Winkworth said.
Semifinal Friday
South Alabama will face Georgia Southern in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday at The Cage. The winner advances to Sunday’s Sun Belt championship match against the winner of the semifinal between second-seeded Troy and third-seeded Texas State.
Update: Semifinal Day
South Alabama enters Friday’s semifinals as the defending Sun Belt Conference Tournament champion. The day opens at 4 p.m. with No. 2 seed Troy against No. 3 seed Texas State, followed by the Jaguars and No. 4 seed Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. at The Cage.
South Alabama beat Georgia Southern 2-0 in Mobile on Oct. 17, with Hannah scoring both goals.
