Friday, October 21
Little Rock Trojans Clinch SBC Tourney Berth With Win vs. Eagles
LITTLE ROCK – The Trojan soccer team clinched its fourth straight berth in the Sun Belt Tournament with a 3-0 victory over Georgia Southern at the Coleman Sports & Recreation Complex on Friday night.
Besides clinching a spot in the Sun Belt Tournament, the Trojans also guaranteed themselves a finish no worse than the league's No. 4 seed. Last year, Little Rock set a program record by finishing with the No. 5 seed, then the highest-ever seed in team history.
Arola Aparicio and Sairra Tucker scored first-half goals to give Little Rock (10-6-1, 5-3-0 Sun Belt) its victory over Georgia Southern (5-10-1, 2-7-0). Sara Small made four saves in recording the win and her fifth shutout of the season.
Aparicio struck in the 11th minute off a great long pass from the midfield by Mikayla Uyokpeyi. Aparicio tipped the bouncing pass over the goalkeeper's head to make it 1-0 Little Rock.
In the 37th minute, Tucker made it 2-0 as Caitlyn Eddy took a corner kick from the left side. The ball bounced off multiple players before it found itself at Tucker's feet for the finish.
Late in the game, Caitlyn Eddy bumped the score to 3-0 when Shannon Shields ran down the left side of the field and crossed the ball into the box for Fali Garuba. Garuba one-touched the ball backward to a wide open Eddy, and Eddy finished with ease to cap the Trojan scoring.
Little Rock outshot Georgia Southern 17-8 on the match and 9-4 in shots on goal.
The Trojans will finish their Sun Belt regular season and play their final home game of 2016 on Sunday when they host Troy at the Coleman Sports & Recreation Complex. A win would guarantee the Trojans the No. 3 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament. Kickoff on Sunday is set for 1 p.m.
USA WINS AT GEORGIA STATE, RECLAIMS FIRST PLACE IN SUN BELT
ATLANTA, Ga. – An early goal from junior Rio Hardy (Workington, England) was the only goal the University of South Alabama soccer team needed in a 2-0 victory over Georgia State Friday at the GSU Soccer Complex.
With the win, the Jaguars improve to 12-4-1 overall and 7-2 in the Sun Belt Conference, two points clear of Coastal Carolina. Both teams have one game to play. The Panthers fall to 5-6-6 and 2-4-4.
"Tonight was one of those games where we didn't really show up and play particularly well, but a sign of a good team is to win games when you're not performing," said USA head coach Graham Winkworth. "We were decent at finding the target. Rio hit a nice one with her left foot, Jemma's emphasized the point that if you hit the target, there's always a chance the ball could go in, and she hit one from range as well.
"We were good in regards to hitting the target, but we didn't have as much rhythm in possession as we do normally. We'll need a little more if we're going to win a championship Sunday against a very strong Appalachian State team that have dominated Louisiana-Lafayette today."
South Alabama has now won three in a row since dropping two straight earlier in the month, and can clinch at least a tie for the league title with a draw on Sunday, and can clinch the championship outright with a victory.
"It's in our control now; I'd rather have it in our control rather than relying on other results," Winkworth stated. "It's important that the girls get fired up for Sunday because it is Appalachian State's Senior Day and they're going to be fighting for their lives as well. It's going to come down to the mentality that the girls have when they enter the match on Sunday."
Hardy's goal came at the 22:35 mark on just the second shot of the game for either team.
"It was good to score a goal early; we weren't creating all that much," Winkworth said. "Georgia State did an excellent job defensively all over the field. They didn't line up as we expected. They did a great job, were well organized and coached, but that early goal settled us down a little bit and we were able to possess the ball.
The two teams combined for just 12 shots total until USA sophomore Jemma Purfield (Cottingham, England) put the game away in the 79th minute. It was Purfield's sixth of the season, one shy of Hardy's team-high total of seven.
"They did put us under a little bit of pressure towards the end of the game, but we sat back a little more to protect a two-goal lead, because even if we conceded one, we still had the buffer," Winkworth noted.
Jaguar freshman Justice Stanford (The Colony, Texas) recorded her eighth shutout of the season, making three saves, with two coming in the final four minutes of the contest. Her counterpart, Brie Haynes, allowed both goals with three saves.
"We defended quite well today," Winkworth remarked. "We were a little slow to react in certain areas of the pitch, but all in all, we have defended well this season, and we're going to need that on Sunday because Appalachian State has got a lot of threats going forward."
South Alabama will attempt to win its third straight Sun Belt crown Sunday at Appalachian State. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CDT.
Bass, Cline Propel Mountaineers Past Cajuns
BOONE, N.C. — In windy, cold and rainy conditions, Appalachian State University women’s soccer thrived as it won a crucial home game against UL Lafayette, 2-0, on Friday evening at the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex.
The Mountaineers (8-7-2, 3-4-2 Sun Belt) completely dominated offensive possession for the match, holding the Ragin’ Cajuns (8-8-1, 4-4-1 Sun Belt) to four total shots to App’s 19.
Even though it wasn’t Senior Day yet, seniors Jane Cline and Jenn Bass shined in one of their final home games with Cline drawing blood first in the 36th minute. Cline took Morgan Mosack’s great ball through traffic from the left side and fired it home on a line.
Bass’ goal came on a set piece from a Kelly Flanders corner. The junior placed the ball perfectly through the whipping rain where Bass was able to locate and knock in dead center.
Cline led all attackers with eight shots on the night, five of which were on goal. Right behind her was senior Jackie Nieradka with three shots and two on goal. Bass had two shots on goal while redshirt sophomore Erin Settle had one of her two shots on goal.
Rounding out the offensive effort was sophomore Emmily Cowie, freshman Maggie Hanusek and Mosack with one shot each.
With the Cline’s eight total shots, she set a new program record for most shots in a season with 77 – passing Casey Cleary’s total of 75 in 2005. The goal also gives Cline her ninth of the season, tying her for third all-time for goals in a single season.
Junior goalkeeper Sam Steyl refused to let in a goal for the entirety of the match, getting her third shutout of the year off four saves.
Warhawks Defeat Trojans 3-2 For Critical Sun Belt Victory
Monroe, La. – The ULM Soccer team saved their best offensive outburst at home for its last home game as the Warhawks used a second half goal from Kylie Kukowski to help defeat Troy 3-2 on Friday afternoon.
THE TURNING POINT
In the 49th minute, Senior Whitney Tuckfield played a ball into fellow senior Kylie Kukowski for the 3-2 lead that the Warhawks wouldn’t relinquish.
NOTABLES
-Warhawks goal scorers Kylie Kukowski and Mia Walters each scored their second goals of the season on Friday while Mary Ashton Lembo scored her first goal of the season in her final home game Friday as well as Kukowski.
-Brooke-Lynn Scroggins came up with five saves in Friday’s match as the Warhawks needed each one of those saves in the one goal contest.
-ULM and Troy met on Friday for the 12th time in the school’s respective history on Friday afternoon. ULM broke an eight-game skid against Troy with the win.