Little Rock 1, Louisiana 1 (2OT)
Coleman Sports Complex | Little Rock, Ark.
Records: LR (4-4-1, 0-0-1 SBC); LA (4-4-1, 1-0-1 SBC)
Up Next: at Arkansas State | Friday, Sept. 22 | 4 p.m.
LITTLE ROCK – Two seconds separated Little Rock from three crucial points in the Sun Belt Conference standings, but a Louisiana goal in the waning seconds forced overtime as the Trojans and Ragin' Cajuns battled to a 1-1 tie Sunday afternoon at the Coleman Sports Complex.
Little Rock took the early lead in the 36th minute off a goal by Arola Aparicio Gill, who maneuvered past a handful of defenders before burying a shot in the bottom right hand corner to give the Trojans the 1-0 lead.
Both teams had opportunities in the opening 45 minutes as Louisiana ended the first half with a 10-6 edge in shots as both goalkeepers registered a pair of saves.
The two teams upped their aggressiveness in the second half, but Little Rock always seemed to be a step too eager. The Trojans were whistled for nine offsides calls on the afternoon, including a handful which looked to lead to prime scoring opportunities.
The times the Trojans were able to get to the goal, Little Rock just missed on a number of shots. In the 78th minute,
Jaclyn Purvine took a hard shot from the left side of the goal which deflected off the hands of the Louisiana goalkeeper – right to a waiting
Sairra Tucker. But Tucker's shot was saved as well, keeping the score at 1-0.
In the 82nd minute, Purvine had another opportunity to add an insurance goal, sending a long shot from along the endline which slipped past the goalkeeper, but ricocheted off the inside post and bounced out.
Goalkeeper
Megan Swanson had a solid day in net for Little Rock, setting a new career-high with nine saves on the afternoon, including a pair in the 69th minute to thwart two great scoring opportunities for the Ragin' Cajuns.
But in the final minute, Louisiana was awarded a corner kick with less than 20 seconds remaining. After the initial inbound, there was a fight for the ball at the top of the box, ending with Louisiana's Haley Boroch slipping a shot into the lower left hand corner of the net with two seconds remaining, sending the game to overtime.
Both teams had opportunities in the extra periods to pick up those two crucial points as Little Rock and Louisiana each had two shots in the first overtime period and three in the second, with another offfsides call on Little Rock negating a final chance to give the Trojans the victory.
Purvine lead the Trojans with five shots on the day, putting two of them on goal, with
Quin Wilkes and Tucker both firing three shots each.
Doro Greulich and Aparicio Gili each notched a pair of shots but Louisiana ended the day with a 24-18 shot advantage.
Little Rock now looks to regroup with a trip to Jonesboro Friday, taking on rival Arkansas State at 4 p.m. The Trojans will then return to Coleman for a three game home stand, beginning with a non-conference tilt against UT-Rio Grande Valley on Sunday, September 24 at 1 p.m.
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