STATESBORO - Georgia Southern women's soccer scored a pair of second-half goals to earn a 2-2 Sun Belt Conference draw with visiting Southern Miss on Senior Day, Sunday at Bo Pitts Field.

The win keeps the Eagles' hopes alive for a berth in the Sun Belt Tournament in eight days' time. Georgia Southern (6-10-2, 3-5-1 SBC) is on 10 points, within striking distance of a berth with one match left to play, which comes Thursday at Texas State. Southern Miss (3-6-5, 2-2-5 SBC) remained unbeaten in its last six matches with the draw.

Southern Miss tallied a pair of first-half goals to take a 2-0 lead, both coming from Taylor Stewart off of assists from Raquelle Mitchell. The first came in the 15th minute when Mitchell drove to the end line, then crossed a ball to Stewart at the top of the box, where she finished for her first goal of the season.

The second came in the 22nd minute as Mitchell forced a turnover in the midfield, then slotted a pass to Stewart on the left side and she was able to finish right for the two-goal advantage.

Southern Miss held a 9-7 edge in shots at the break.

In the second half, the Eagles quickly pulled a goal back thanks to high pressure. The Golden Eagle back line played a ball back to Southern Miss goalkeeper Kesaia Bruni, whose clearance took a deflection and ended up on the foot of the Eagles' Kyleigh Drew, who finished inside the post in the 49th minute to make the score 2-1.

The Eagles then tied things up on a set piece in the 63rd minute. Maya Zovko's corner kick found the head of Claire Casey, who finished just inside the near post high for her fourth goal of the season - all off headed corner kicks.

Georgia Southern had a pair of golden chances to nick the winner in the final six minutes, but Smith Cathey's shot in the 85th went wide and a lunging try by Drew on the far post in the 86th minute narrowly missed.

The Eagles outshot Southern Miss by a 9-5 margin in the second half and enjoyed a 16-14 shot advantage for the match. Bruni made four saves in net for Southern Miss, while Quinn Wilson made five saves for the Eagles in one half of action. Southern Miss had a 6-4 edge in corner kicks and the Golden Eagles were whistled for 16 fouls and four offsides, compared to 17 fouls and one offsides for Georgia Southern.

"Very proud of our second-half effort. Today was Senior Day, and that half is indicative of our senior class. We talkeda t halftime how they had always played with guts. At Mercer we were up 2-0, the shoe was on the other foot. We hadn't come back from a one-goal deficit, much less a two-goal deficit, so I'm just very proud of the grit and the fight and absolutely leaving it on the field. Our seniors have truly embodied the GATA mentality."