LITTLE ROCK – Following a very successful home weekend, the Little Rock soccer team opens Sun Belt Conference play on the road this weekend.
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The Trojans are set to square off with Texas State on Friday at 7 p.m. and follow that with a game against Louisiana on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games will feature live video and live statistics on the opponents' website.
Little Rock will be entering the weekend on a two-game winning streak. The Trojans outshot Mississippi Valley State 38-0 on their way to a shutout victory on Friday night, and the team defeated Kansas State 2-1 on Sunday afternoon after falling behind in the second minute.
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Against the Devilettes, Little Rock got
Kayla Turner's third career goal – and her first since her first career game in 2013 – and a strike from
Quin Wilkes for the win. Against the Wildcats,Â
Jaclyn Purvine scored the equalizer in the first half before
Harrison Hayworth finished off K-State with a 79th-minute game-winner. Hayworth has just two goals this season, but both have been game-winners. As such, she is tied for 29th in the country with two game-winning goals.
Purvine continues to lead the Trojans in scoring this season, as she added a goal and an assist to her tally this weekend. She has eight points, good for third in the conference. As a team, the Trojans are putting up the second-most shots in the league so far this season and are 26th in the nation in shots on goal per game as of Tuesday morning.
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Little Rock has its sights set on another program-best finish in the Sun Belt this year, as the Trojans ended the 2015 campaign in fifth place for their highest-ever seed in the league tournament.
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In the way of that this weekend is Texas State – currently 3-4-1 on the year – and high-scoring Louisiana. The Bobcats have non-conference wins over Lamar, Prairie View A&M and Northwestern State, and Kathryn Buddle is second in the Sun Belt with a 0.44 goals against average. The Bobcats have allowed just eight goals in their eight games.
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Louisiana, meanwhile, has been an offensive powerhouse this season. The Cajuns are 4-4-0 overall with wins over Alcorn State, Lamar, Southeastern Louisiana and McNeese State. Louisiana has totaled 147 shots and 22 goals, best in the Sun Belt. That number, though, is inflated due to a 10-0 win over Alcorn State.
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KICK OFF
- Little Rock picked up a pair of wins over the weekend, defeating Mississippi Valley State 2-0 on Friday and Kansas State 2-1 on Sunday.
- Kayla Turner scored the game-winner for Little Rock on Friday and Harrison Hayworth got the game-winner for Little Rock on Sunday.
- Hayworth is tied for 29th in the nation in game-winning goals (2) as of Monday morning.
- The Trojans are 27th in the nation in shots per game and 26th in shots on goal per game as of Monday morning.
- Little Rock's Jaclyn Purvine has the team lead in points with three goals and two assists for eight total points.
- The Trojans are second in the Sun Belt in shots and goals and third in goals allowed.
- Little Rock will be seeking its first win against Louisiana since 2011 and its first ever against Texas State this weekend.
