LR Opens Season With Games at Tennessee Tech, Belmont

Game Notes | Full Season Preview

GM 01  >> Little Rock at Tennessee Tech
Friday, Aug. 21 • 7 p.m. (CST)
Cookeville, Tenn. • Tech Soccer Field
Live Stats | Live Video (free)
 
GM 02  >> Little Rock at Belmont
Sunday, Aug. 23 • 4 p.m. (CST)
Nashville, Tenn. • E.S. Rose Park
Live Stats | Live Video
 
LITTLE ROCK – Fresh off the best year in program history, the Little Rock soccer team will open its 2015 campaign in the Volunteer State on Friday and Sunday. The Trojans will first face Tennessee Tech in their season opener on Friday night before heading to Nashville for a date with Belmont on Sunday afternoon. The team lost just one non-conference game in all of 2014 and started the year with nine consecutive wins. Both games will have live stats and live video available for free online.
 
LEADING OFF
• Little Rock is coming off the first winning season in program history, a year where it broke records for wins, consecutive wins, team goals against average, goals scored among others.
• For the second straight year, the Trojans made the Sun Belt Tournament in 2014. For the second straight year, the team earned the No. 8 seed and lost by a 2-1 margin to the regular-season champion in the first round.
• Little Rock returns just seven players from the 2014 roster but brings in 20 newcomers in 2015 from all over the United States and Europe.
• Head coach Adrian Blewitt has improved the team from 2-14 the year before he took over to 11-8-1 last season.
 
FOLLOW THE TROJANS
Fans can monitor all the action by following @LittleRockSoc on Twitter.
 
ABOUT TENNESSEE TECH

• The Golden Eagles, who hail from Cookeville, Tenn., posted a 2-15-2 record last season. Both of their victories came in non-conference play.
• Tennessee Tech ended the 2014 season on a three-game losing streak and went 0-8-2 in conference play. The Golden Eagles wound up with an RPI of 304 in the country out of 332 teams.
• Last year, Taylor Blazei led the team with nine points on two goals and five assists. Abi Gearing and Katie Phillips had two goals apiece also, though Phillips is no longer on the roster. In goal, most of the minutes went to senior Rebecca Toler who posted a 2.64 goals against average. Junior Allison Barlow (4.40 GAA) is the only other goalie on this year's roster who played last season.
• Steve Springthorpe is the Golden Eagles' head coach, leading them for the second consecutive season. He has an 84-98-18 record overall in 10 years as a head coach.
   

THE SERIES AGAINST TENNESSEE TECH
Little Rock and Tennessee Tech have met just twice in their history with the Trojans claiming both wins. When the teams met in 1998, Little Rock scored a 2-0 win at home. Last season, the Golden Eagles suffered a 1-0 loss at the hands of Little Rock with Quin Wilkes scoring the game-winning goal on a penalty kick in the 49th minute.
 
A WIN AGAINST TENNESSEE TECH WOULD...
…be the team's third consecutive victory against the Golden Eagles…improve the Trojans to 3-0 all-time against Tennessee Tech… start the season with a victory for the third consecutive year…be the Trojans' 10th victory in its last 11 games against non-league opponents.
 
ABOUT BELMONT

• The Bruins, based in Nashville, Tenn., had a .500 record last year after going 7-7-4 overall. Belmont was also .500 in conference play, posting a 4-4-2 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Bruins just missed the OVC Tournament, placing seventh in the league in 2014.
• When Belmont was last on the field, it defeated in-state rival Austin Peay 4-2 after a 2-0 win over Murray State. Despite the two-game winning streak to end the year, the Bruins could not move up in the league standings enough for a tournament berth.
• Belmont's game against Little Rock on Sunday will be its regular-season opener after two exhibition games against Chattanooga and Lipscomb a week earlier.
• Last year's Bruins team was led on offense by Belicia Mendiola's eight goals and three assists for 19 points. Taylor Smith and Allie Hicks each had four goals for second place on the roster. Of those three, only Mendiola is back. In net, now-senior Lindsey Espe was the team's top goalie, recording a 1.16 goals against average over 14 games.
• Coach Heather Henson is in her fifth year with the Bruins and has a 30-32-9 record with the team. She is 139-192-35 overall in 20 years as a head coach.
   

THE SERIES AGAINST BELMONT
Little Rock and Belmont have met four times in their history with the Bruins claiming all but one victory. Little Rock's lone win in the series came in overtime in 1997 by a 2-1 score. Belmont won games against Little Rock in 1998, 2006 and 2007.
 
A WIN AGAINST BELMONT WOULD...
…be the team's first victory against the Bruins since 1997.
 
LITTLE ROCK VS. THE OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE
The Trojans have squared off against current Ohio Valley Conference members 34 times in their history, and Little Rock holds an 11-21-2 record in those games. The record is bolstered by a 3-1-1 mark against Murray State and a 2-0 all-time mark against Tennessee Tech. The Trojans have played all of the 11 current teams in the OVC except Eastern Kentucky.
 
PLENTY OF NEW FACES
The Trojans are almost entirely a new-look team for 2015, as just seven players are returning from the 2014 roster. Goaltenders Sara Cavanagh and Shara Robbins, defender Hali Long, midfielders Kayla Turner and Mikayla Uyokpeyi; and forwards Fali Garuba and Quin Wilkes are the only players back from last year. Joining them will be 20 new faces ranging from freshmen to juniors at every position. Of those 20 players, four come from overseas while 16 are from the United States.
 
NEW ALL-AMERICANS
The most decorated of Little Rock's new players may be freshman Caitlyn Eddy. Coming from Francis Howell Central High School in St. Charles, Mo., Eddy was named a High School All-American by the NSCAA in July. Only 26 girls' soccer players across the country earned the honor during the winter season. Much like Eddy, incoming junior Shannon Shields was also an All-American at her last school. While playing for Pima Community College, Shields was named an NJCAA and NSCAA All-American for her 21-goal, eight-assist sophomore season.
 
BEST SEASON EVER
The Little Rock soccer team made history last year, reaching 11 victories on the season. The previous program record of 10 victories was set in 2007. The 2014 campaign was also the team's first-ever winning season, as that 2007 team went 10-10-2 to finish with a .500 winning percentage.
 
BEST START EVER
After never having started a season better than 4-0-0 in school history, the Trojans more than doubled the school's previous record in 2014. Little Rock started 9-0-0 on the season, by far the best opening to a year in school history. In fact, the Little Rock soccer team had the best beginning to a season of any team in any sport in Trojan history. No other sport at Little Rock has started a year with nine consecutive wins.
 
GOALS RECORD TIED
With all the other records that fell by the wayside last year, Little Rock waited until the last game of the regular season to break one more. With Fali Garuba's strike against South Alabama, the Trojans scored their 46th goal of the season. That tally tied the school record of 46 goals in a year, set previously in 1990 and 1991. Another goal against the Jaguars in the Sun Belt Tournament broke the record and set a new one at 47.
 
GOALS AGAINST BELOW AVERAGE
The Little Rock soccer set one more school record in 2014, posting a goals against average of 1.14. The team's previous low goals against average was 1.31 back in 1997. Sara Cavanagh had a 0.91 goals against average, the best in school history by nearly half a goal.
 
SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
Freshman Fali Garuba got some well-deserved recognition at the end of the 2014 season when the Sun Belt Conference named her to its postseason Second Team. Garuba finished the season leading the Trojans with nine goals and 23 points, both fourth overall in the Sun Belt. Garuba is the first Trojan player to score nine goals in a year since Christina Veasley in 2009.
 
POINTS APLENTY
Little Rock recorded 138 points last season on 47 goals and 44 assists. In the last 15 years since the team has records of points scored, that total is by far the highest. The previous school record for points in a year was 107, set in 2003. The Trojans' 44 assists was also better than it has seen in the last 15 years of recorded assists. The previous best in assists was 29 in 2003.
 
CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Coming soon:

• Fali Garuba needs one more goal to reach 10 in her career and two more points for 25.
• Kayla Turner's next appearance will be her 30th game.
• Mikayla Uyokpeyi's next assist will give her 10 total.
• Quin Wilkes needs just 55 more minutes played to reach 1,000.
   

UP NEXT
Little Rock plays its home opener next weekend, taking on Murray State on August 28 at the Coleman Sports & Recreation Complex at 7 p.m. The Trojans then travel to Oklahoma for a game on August 30 to wrap up the weekend.