Box Score LITTLE ROCK – The UALR soccer team had multiple chances on goal in the second half, but Troy held strong defensively and defeated UALR 3-0 at the Coleman Sports & Recreation Complex on Friday night.
UALR (11-6-1, 2-5-1 Sun Belt Conference) remains in the eighth spot in the league standings with one game left in the regular season. A victory against regular-season champion South Alabama on Sunday would clinch a berth in the conference tournament for UALR. Troy (13-5-0, 5-3-0) solidified its spot in the conference with the win against UALR.
UALR will also get into the conference tournament if it loses or ties and ULM loses to Louisiana on Sunday.
The action Friday night was fairly even in the early going, with UALR controlling much of the chances. But Troy scored twice in the final 16 minutes of the first half to pull away.
Troy scored its first goal in the 29th minute when Chelsey Williams shot the ball from the top right of the penalty box into the net. Williams got the ball passed to her by teammate Annabell Simpson as Simpson was falling down being defended near the six-yard box.
Troy's second goal came off the foot of substitute Natalie Melillo. Troy won a free kick in their defensive half of the field, and Jasmine Fahrnbauer blasted the ball to the left corner of the penalty box. It was headed across the face of goal there by Alissa Jones right into the path of Melillo, and she found the back of the net past goalie Bre Ilkuf in the 40th minute.
At the start of the second half, UALR shifted to a more offensive formation and got plenty of quality chances. Louise Kallin hit the crossbar in the 53rd minute, and Amanda Wilkinson nearly put home a free kick from a long distance away. Still, Troy keeper Mikki Lewis made all five saves asked of her to pick up the win.
Troy got its final goal directly off a corner kick when Alissa Jones fired an in-swinging low shot that found its way to the back of the net in the 70th minute.
Ilkuf tallied six saves of her own in goal, eclipsing 50 for her young career. Kailie Holloway, Lauren Brownrigg and Linnea Kogsta played all 90 minutes in their defensive roles.
UALR closes its regular season on Sunday when it faces South Alabama at the Coleman Sports & Recreation Complex at 1 p.m. The Jaguars clinched the conference regular-season title on Friday night with a victory at Arkansas State.
