Box Score MOBILE, Ala. ? The UALR Trojans soccer team (11-9-1) played their second-straight overtime game Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Soccer Championships against the No. 2 seed Middle Tennessee (11-5-4). Not even 110 minutes of action could keep these two teams off the pitch, so it came down to a shootout. UALR won the shootout 3-2 and advanced to face off against Denver in the semifinals.
This was the first ever victory for UALR in the Sun Belt Tournament and the first victory over Middle Tennessee since Oct. 19, 1997.
“It was a pretty exciting afternoon,” said head coach Greg Hess. “The best season in UALR history just kept going. This was the first time since I've been here that we've beaten Middle Tennessee State. I'm very proud of the girls. We had two players fighting flu symptoms and another two battling injuries. Jane made some great saves and we got some help by the other team missing shots in the shootout. The girls are all pumped up to take on Denver tomorrow.”
In regulation, the Trojans could only get two shots off against Kela Casiple. The Blue Raiders sent an astounding 18 shots towards goalie Jane Picarelli but the Trojan defense held and Picarelli made some great saves to keep UALR in the contest.
A key point in the second half came when the Blue Raiders' Holly Grogan hit a shot in the 88th minute that went off the crossbar. Picarelli made six saves to keep Middle Tennessee of the board in regulation.
“They (UALR) did a great job in the second half,” said Hess. “We got a little fatigued and had to fend off their attacks a lot. Middle Tennessee has some of the most dangerous players in conference, but we did not give them a lot of close, clean looks. The box score says they had a lot of shots, but shots on goal were 6-3 in favor of them.”
In the beginning of overtime, the Trojans pressured the Blue Raiders early, controlling most of the action. However, around the 5:00 mark of overtime, the Blue Raiders sent the ball back in and re-established control of the contest. The Trojans were still able to turn back the Blue Raiders as most of their shots in the first overtime frame were either high or wide. Trojan forward Danielle Dunsworth nearly ended the game with two minutes to go in overtime, but her shot went high over the net. The first overtime frame ended with another high shot by Middle Tennessee.
In double overtime, the Trojans had a great opportunity when forward Grace Rich sped past two Blue Raider defenders, but when she tried to center her pass, it was intercepted away from UALR. Both teams could not convert on great opportunities towards the end of the game, meaning the game would come down to a shootout.
Trojan Heather Pittman started the shootout and got the ball past Casiple for a 1-0 lead. Vanessa Mueggler was the first Blue Raider to shoot and her shot went wide. Brittney Simmons was the next Trojan to shoot and her shot scored to give UALR a 2-0 lead. Francesca Howells was next for the Blue Raiders and her shot got past Picarelli to put the pressure on UALR.
Stephanie Schneidau was the third Trojan to shoot and her shot was stopped by Casiple. Grogan was next for the Blue Raiders and her shot was tipped out by Picarelli, keeping UALR in front 2-1. Rich was next for UALR, and she scored to put UALR up 3-1. Bethany Bertovic converted on her kick to keep UALR up 3-2. Alisa Spitali was the final Trojan to shoot but her shot was stopped. The final Blue Raider was Kaley Forrest but her shot was offline and UALR won the match.
“I had a good feeling going into the shootout,” said Hess. “Alisa (Spitali) was a little heartbroken because she didn't make the final shot, but Alisa is out there because I feel she is our best penalty-kick shooter. Regardless of statistics, we did what we had to do to win.”
UALR will return to the pitch tomorrow afternoon as they take on Denver in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Soccer Championships. Match time is set for 4 p.m. Denver advanced in the tournament by defeating Florida Atlantic in a shootout in the early game on day one. The Trojans lost 2-0 to Denver in the regular season.
