Trojans Advance to Sun Belt Tournament Championship

LITTLE ROCK- The Trojans advanced to the Sun Belt Tournament championship game after picking up a 2-0 win over number six seed Georgia State behind Jaclyn Purvine's two-goal performance. With tonight's win, Little Rock broke a school record for the most wins a season as they now have 13 wins in 2018.
 
"We were trying to find ways to get [Jaclyn] involved," said Head Coach Mark Foster. "Obviously she was great tonight but I thought Arola was amazing, through the middle she was good, out wide she was good, she was just exceptional. I thought we were better tonight than we were in the quarterfinal and we'll have to be even better on Sunday. We're going to have to go up a couple of gears but I think we have the potential to do that."
 
The Trojans wasted no time getting forward in the attempt to score as quickly as possible. Fanney Einarsdottir hit the crossbar in the first minute of play with her blast from well outside the box. Sairra Tucker nearly got to the rebound in time to score the opening goal but it wasn't to be for the senior.
 
Morgan Smocovich also fired two long range shots in the first ten minutes that required very good saves from the Georgia State goalkeeper.
 
Little Rock had another good chance in the 24^th minute when Tucker did well to beat a defender on the wing and send in her cross, but the ball was deflected just before it reached the six-yard box. The Panthers got back into the game after this opportunity and nearly found a goal just before halftime. The Trojans held the advantage in shots on goal at the end of the first 45 minutes, but the game was played quite evenly.
 
The breakthrough came in the 54^th minute when Arola Aparicio Gili threaded a pass to Purvine who took the shot from the right side of the box first time on her right foot to drive the ball into the back of the net to give her team a 1-0 advantage.
 
A little over 10 minutes later, Little Rock doubled their lead when Smocovich picked up her second assist in two games from a corner, which Purvine would rise up to knock home and make the score 2-0. The senior's two goals on the night were her 11^th and 12^th of the season.
 
For the rest of the match, Georgia State really struggled to find any kind of offensive rhythm as the Trojan defense proved to be absolutely stellar once again. The center back pairing of Natalee Geren and Liesa Seifert were excellent on the night. Geren showed some very good composure, playing in a new role whilst stepping in for injured Samantha Rolka.
 
Bergros Asgeirsdottir had a wonderful game at right back, constantly winning possession for her team and threatening the Panther defense from wide areas.
 
The Trojans picked up their 11^th shutout of the season, further increasing the school record.
 
Little Rock will return to play the championship game in Foley, Ala. against number one seed Texas State on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m.
 
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