Box Score LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? For the first time in nearly a month, the UALR Trojans soccer team (8-8, 3-4) find themselves at the .500 mark overall as they lost to Denver (7-3-4, 4-1-2) by a 2-0 score at Burns Park. The Trojans find themselves a game under .500 in conference with four games to play before the Sun Belt Conference tournament kicks off.
“We just got into an early funk,” said head coach Greg Hess. “Early goals have been a problem for us lately. Louisiana-Lafayette scored in the first minute, Western Kentucky scored in the first minute, and now Denver scored in the first six minutes. After that, we settled down and played pretty even, especially in the second half. We got a few more attacks but it's hard to dig yourself out of the early hole.”
The Pioneers got on the board early as a miscue by the UALR midfield led to the ball staying in the Trojans' part of the field. Denver's Kelsey Quinn found Lizzy Carlson who fed the ball to Mariah Johnson. Johnson got the ball past Jane Picarelli for her second goal of the season and put Denver up 1-0 in the sixth minute. Another defensive miscue led to Denver's Lizzy Carlson scoring her second goal of the season in the 11th minute to put the Pioneers ahead by two.
The Trojans had plenty of opportunities but couldn't find an offensive rhythm as they could only muster three shots on goal. One of the shots on goal came from a returning Erin Dawson. Dawson had been out with a back injury but saw her first action of the season against Denver. Alex Rustad also had two shots on goal in the contest. Picarelli made three saves in the game but took the loss.
The Trojans return to Burns Park for the final time in the 2007 season as they host North Texas on Senior Day. The team will recognize Alisa Spitali and Tiffany Cole before the match. Game time is set for 1 pm.
“We hope to step up on Sunday and send Alisa (Spitali) and Tiffany (Cole) out on a good note,” said Hess.
