LR Earns Best-Ever League Finish With Tie at Troy

TROY, Ala. – The Little Rock soccer team continued a season-long trend on Sunday, going to overtime for a program-record eighth time and finishing with a school-record fifth tie of the season.
 
Little Rock (8-6-5, 3-2-4 Sun Belt Conference) ended its regular season with a 0-0 draw at second-place Troy, and in the process achieved the best-ever conference finish for the Little Rock program.
 
The Little Rock tie combined with a win by Georgia State and a loss by Georgia Southern earlier Sunday means Little Rock will be the No. 5 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament starting on Nov. 4 in Atlanta. Little Rock ended the season with 13 points in league play, tying Georgia State in the standings. But a regular-season victory over the Panthers means Little Rock takes the No. 5 seed while Georgia State is relegated to the No. 6 seed.
 
The Trojans will play No. 4 seed Appalachian State on Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. with a berth in the conference tournament semifinals on the line. When Appalachian State and Little Rock played during the regular season, the teams fought to a 1-1 draw in Boone, N.C.
 
Before 2015, Little Rock's highest-ever seed in the Sun Belt Tournament was the No. 6 seed all the way back in 2003. The Trojans earned the No. 8 seed each of the two previous years.
 
Sunday's result against Troy was the first point Little Rock had picked up in the series since 2008. Troy had won the last six meetings during that span.
 
Early on, it looked as though Troy had posted a goal to earn a 1-0 lead. But the goal was called back due to a Troy player being in an offside position, and neither team would get that close to scoring again.
 
Little Rock keeper Sara Small earned her program-record sixth shutout of the season, making five saves and getting in the way of Troy crosses and passes all afternoon. She made two saves in the second overtime period to keep her sheet clean.
 
Troy's Brooke McKee took a red card in the 100th minute right at the end of the first overtime, but Little Rock was unable to capitalize on the man advantage over the final 10 minutes and went without a shot in that span.

Troy ended the game leading 19-5 in shots and 5-1 in corner kicks, but the teams tied at 0-0 where it counted.
 
Besides Small, six Little Rock players saw the entire 110 minutes of action: Quin Wilkes, Mikayla Uyokpeyi, Logan Strange, Claire Palmer, Hali Long and Jaclyn Purvine.
 
The Trojans will now have more than a week off to prepare for the Sun Belt Tournament Quarterfinal. That game will take place on Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. against No. 4 seed Appalachian State.