Trojans to Face League's Top Two Teams in Alabama

GM 18 >> Little Rock at South Alabama
Friday, Oct. 23 • 7 p.m. (CST)
Mobile, Ala. • The Cage
Live Stats | Game Notes
 
GM 19 >> Little Rock at Troy
Sunday, Oct. 25 • 1 p.m. (CST)
Troy, Ala. • Troy Soccer Complex
Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes
 
LITTLE ROCK – Fresh off a tournament-berth-clinching victory at Arkansas State on Friday, the Trojans will face their toughest test of the conference season with a road trip to league regular-season champ South Alabama and second-place Troy this weekend. The action kicks off on Friday at 7 p.m. with the Trojans seeking to stay up high in the conference standings before tournament play begins.
 
LEADING OFF

• Little Rock earned a 2-1 road victory against Arkansas State on Friday with Quin Wilkes scoring in the 81st and 100th minutes of the game to guarantee the Trojans a spot in the league tournament.
• Wilkes becomes the first Trojan to score two goals in a game during league play this year, and she had not tallied a multiple-goal game since August 2014.
• Little Rock has allowed just five goals in league play, tied for the lowest in the conference. Just three of those goals allowed were off the bodies of an opponent, as two Little Rock goals allowed have been own goals.
• The Trojans will finish no worse than seventh in the league standings no matter what happens this weekend, guaranteeing the team its best finish in conference play since 2007.
• The Trojans' RPI now 107, three spots lower than last week. Still, the 104 RPI ranking from last week is the highest RPI in school history.
• Little Rock has taken points from six out of seven conference matches and is in fifth place in the league standings.
• The Trojans' six-game unbeaten streak is the longest in conference play in school history.

 
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Fans can monitor all the action by following @LittleRockSoc on Twitter.
 
ABOUT SOUTH ALABAMA

• The Jaguars, based in Mobile, Ala., are 13-2-1 on the season and atop the Sun Belt Conference standings with a perfect 7-0-0 record. South Alabama clinched the league regular-season championship with two victories last weekend.
• South Alabama has the longest conference winning streak in the nation, defeating Sun Belt opponents in 16 consecutive games. The team also has the second-longest overall winning streak in the country, claiming victories in its last eight games.
• The last team to defeat the Jaguars was then-No. 9 Auburn by a 2-1 score. South Alabama also lost to South Florida – now receiving votes – by a 2-1 score in early September. The Jaguars are currently No. 20 in the national RPI rankings.
• South Alabama is the two-time defending Sun Belt Tournament champion.
• Chardé Hannah, the league's preseason player of the year, leads the Jaguars with 16 points on six goals and four assists. Ashlynn Jones and Danielle Henley are also in double digit points with 13 and 11, respectively.
• In net, Sarah Hay has recorded a 0.70 goals against average and a .860 save percentage this season.
• Graham Winkworth is in just his third season with the program and owns a 157-92-13 career record leading college teams.

 
THE SERIES AGAINST SOUTH ALABAMA
Little Rock and South Alabama have squared off 21 times in their history, and the Jaguars hold a 15-5-1 lead in the series. They have won the previous five matches in the series including last season's regular-season finale in Little Rock and first-round Sun Belt Tournament game in Mobile on back-to-back games. The Jaguars won both of those games 2-1. Little Rock last defeated South Alabama in 2010.
 
A WIN AGAINST SOUTH ALABAMA WOULD…
…be the Trojans' first win over the Jaguars since 2010…be the Trojans' first win over the Jaguars in Mobile since 2003…break the Jaguars' eight-game winning streak and 16-game conference winning streak…extend the team's unbeaten streak to seven games.
 
ABOUT TROY

• The Trojans, who hail from Troy, Ala., have posted an impressive 12-4-0 record this season and are second in the Sun Belt Conference with a 5-2 league record. Their only conference losses have come against South Alabama in the first week of the season and Georgia State on Sunday.
• Before Sunday's loss to Georgia State, Troy was on a five-game conference winning streak. Troy is guaranteed a spot in the league tournament and can finish anywhere from second to seventh.
• On offense, Chelsey Williams leads the team with 17 points on six goals and five assists. Alissa Jones has six goals and four assists for 16 points, and Brooke McKee is also in double-digit points with 12.
• Troy's defense and goaltending have been excellent this year as the team has posted eight shutouts. Mikki Lewis is the top goaltender with seven shutouts, a 0.68 goals against average and a .870 save percentage.
• Jason Hamilton is leading the Trojans for the second straight year. He has a 28-10-0 record as a head coach.

 
THE SERIES AGAINST TROY
Troy and Little Rock have been facing off since Troy joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2005. Troy won the teams' first-ever meeting before Little Rock claimed the next three, but Troy has won all six games since the 2009 season. Little Rock overall holds a 3-7 record against Troy. Last year, Troy defeated Little Rock 3-0 at the Coleman Sports & Recreation Complex.
 
A WIN AGAINST TROY WOULD…
…be the team's first since 2008…break a six-game losing streak against the Trojans.
 
LITTLE ROCK VS. THE SUN BELT
Since the Trojans joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2000, the team has compiled a record of 37-102-8 in conference games. Little Rock's best conference season came in 2007 when it went 5-5-1 against Sun Belt foes. The Trojans have never finished a conference schedule above .500. Little Rock has finished eighth in the Sun Belt for the last two seasons but will finish in seventh at worst this year.
 
TOURNAMENT CLINCHED
With the victory against Arkansas State on Friday night, Little Rock clinched a trip to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament for the third consecutive year. Little Rock can now finish no worse than seventh in the league and can possibly finish as high as second depending on the results of the final weekend's games. This season is guaranteed to be the team's best finish in the league since 2008 and may be their best finish ever. The Trojans are currently fifth in the standings with two games to go.
 
UNBEATEN STREAK
The Trojans have not lost a game since their conference opener against Texas State on Sept. 25. Since then, the team has rattled off three wins and three ties, making for an unbeaten streak of six games. This marks the longest unbeaten conference streak in Trojan history, bettering the previous record by three games.
 
WILKES DOUBLES UP
With the Trojans trailing 1-0 thanks to a first-half own goal at Arkansas State on Friday, thigns were starting to look bleak as the minutes ticked off the clock. But in the 81st minute, Quin Wilkes got a tying goal that sent the game to overtime. In the waning seconds of the first extra period, Wilkes buried the game-winner, clinching the tournament berth for Little Rock and starting a celebration on the Jonesboro field. Wilkes became the first Trojan to score two goals in a game during league play this year, and she had not tallied a multiple-goal game since August 2014.
 
DEFENSE LEADS THE WAY
Little Rock has allowed just five goals in league play, tied for the lowest in the conference. With two own goals scored in league play, that means just three of those goals allowed were caused by the opponent offense beating the Trojan defense.
 
OVERTIME OVER AND OVER
Friday's 2-1 overtime victory at Arkansas State marked the seventh time in 17 games that Little Rock has gone to overtime this season. That number is a new program record, easily beating out the previous record of four. Friday's game in Jonesboro was the Trojans' first overtime victory of the year and the team's first overtime victory since 2011. Little Rock is 1-2-4 in overtime games this year.
 
CLEANING UP
Trojan goalkeeper Sara Small is the two-time Sun Belt Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week and now has five solo shutouts on the year, tying the school record for shutouts in a season. She is third in the conference in saves, fourth in goals against average and fifth in save percentage.
 
BEST RPI EVER
When the NCAA released its weekly RPI numbers on Oct. 12, the Trojans found themselves ranked No. 104 in the nation. That ranking was the Trojans' highest RPI in school history. Though the Trojans dropped three spots to 107 this week, the team still has a chance to crack the top 100 after this weekend when it faces two top-100 RPI teams in South Alabama and Troy.
 
SUN BELT STAT RANKINGS
Now in the final two weekends of conference play, the Trojans compare well with other teams in the league. Through last weekend's games, Little Rock is third in the league with 16 goals allowed and a 0.94 goals against average, fourth in the league with 260 shots and 25 assists, third in the league with 15 goals allowed and fourth in the league with 79 saves.
 
On the individual side Sara Small is fourth in the league in goals against average (0.81), third in saves (72) and fourth in save percentage (.837).
 
CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Against Arkansas State:

• Quin Wilkes notched her 10th career goal and 25th point.
• Hali Long played her 3,500th minute while Bailey Fithian and Sara Small played their 1,500th minute.

Coming soon:

• Sara Cavanagh is two saves away from 60.
• Sara Small needs three more saves for 75.

 
UP NEXT
The Trojans are off to Atlanta after a week off to recover, playing in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament on Nov. 4. The team will be playing a team and playing at a time still to be determined.