Box Score LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? For the first time in nine tries, the UALR Trojans soccer team (9-8, 4-4) was able to knock off the North Texas Mean Green (13-3, 7-1), winning a hard fought contest 3-1. The win kept the Trojans over .500 on the year and tied a 20-year-old record for total wins in a season.
“I'm kind of speechless,” said head coach Greg Hess. “The girls came out rocking and rolling in the first half. It was pretty amazing. We won all the 50/50 balls and I think the wind was a factor. We were able to get three goals in and had a few more chances. They came at us fast and furious in the second half but we still had three or four good chances to put the game away but just couldn't convert. I'm really proud of our girls. They really stepped up today. This was probably the biggest win in program history.”
The Trojans did not disappoint on Senior Day as they started the game pressuring North Texas. In the 16th minute, the Trojans found the back of the net as Leanne Mihelich scored off an assist from Tiffany Cole. The Trojans wouldn't stop at just one goal. In the 28th minute, Mihelich found Grace Rich out in front and scored to put the Trojans up 2-0. In the 37th minute, the ball found the back of the net again as Rich put away her second goal of the game off assists from Mihelich and Stephanie Schneidau.
In the second half, North Texas turned up the intensity and finally broke through against Jane Picarelli. The Mean Green's Janaye Woods scored in the 53rd minute off an assist from Heather Hutyra to cut the lead to two. However, the Trojans would not be denied in their final home game of the season. Picarelli made some huge saves in the half and the defense kept North Texas from scoring in the final 37 minutes. Picarelli ended the game with seven saves.
“Leanne and Grace did a super job,” said Hess. “We just did a great job on defense shutting down a high-powered offense. Stefanie (Di Francesco) did a great job as well as Brittney (Simmons), Stephanie Schneidau, Courtney (Renfro), and Erin (Dawson). Heather (Pittman) did a great job too. All in all, it was just a great team effort on defense. When we slipped a little bit, Jane was there every time to make the save. We had some help from the crossbar a few times, but if it weren't for a few crossbars and a couple of bounces the other way, we might have had a couple more wins ourselves.”
The Trojans return to action next weekend as they head to the Sunshine State to start a three-game road trip to end the regular conference season. On Friday Oct. 26, the squad will take on Florida Atlantic at 7 p.m. On Sunday Oct. 28, the Trojans will face off against Florida International at 12 p.m.
