LITTLE ROCK –
Fali Garuba notched the equalizer goal with six seconds remaining in the opening half, then
Morgan Smocovich struck twice in the second to lead Little Rock to a 3-1 win over Appalachian State.
The victory keeps the Trojans unbeaten at home this season at 7-0-2 as Little Rock improves to 7-6-2 overall and 2-2-2 in the Sun Belt Conference standings. The Trojans picked up three crucial points in the conference standings, giving them eight and putting them in the driver's seat jostling for the final conference tournament spot.
Appalachian State would strike first, however, as the Mountaineers opened up the contest with a rocket shot ten yards outside the box from Lindsey Tully to put the Mountaineers up 1-0 in the 25th minute.
After numerous chances by the Trojans, Little Rock finally found the back of the net in the waning seconds of the opening half as
Claire Palmer floated a ball to the back post towards Garuba, who fought her way through the defender to head the ball in the bottom left netting to even the score at 1-1 going into the break. The tally from Garuba ended a nearly 270-minute scoreless drought for the Trojans, dating back to the 2-1 win over ULM on September 29.
Little Rock would take that momentum into the second half as
Morgan Smocovich was given an abundant amount of open field to dribble at the defense and from outside the box fired a shot towards the left upper corner, beating the keeper to put the Trojans up 2-1 in the 49th minute.
But Smocovich was not done. In a near identical situation minutes later, Smocovich would beat a defender in the same area and rip another shot into the upper left corner to give Little Rock the 3-1 in the 62nd minute
The Mountaineers would muster up all they could to put in another goal but the Trojan defense would hold strong and seal the victory at 3-1.
Little Rock was outshot 12-11 on the night, despite holding a 7-4 shot advantage in the first half. Both teams finished with three corner kicks on the night, taking all of them in their respective halves, with the Trojans whistled for 12 fouls to nine for the Mountaineers.
Defensively,
Kate Hamilton's 291-minute goaless streak was ended after the early goal, but would prove resilient making four saves on the contest and improving to 3-0-1 on the year.
Little Rock returns to action on Sunday for their final home game of the year, hosting Sun Belt Conference leader Texas State. Kick-off time is set for 1 p.m. at the Coleman Sports Complex.
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