Trojans Look to SBC Championship Game

LITTLE ROCK- The Trojans have advanced to the championship game of the Sun Belt Tournament for the first time since 2009. They will meet top-seeded Texas State who has gone unbeaten in conference play. The winner of the match will clinch an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Trojan Report
Little Rock won in convincing fashion in the semifinal match with a 2-0 victory over six-seed Georgia State. Jaclyn Purvine netted a brace in the contest to lead the Trojans on the night. It was the 11^th shutout of the season for the team as they further increased the school record. Little Rock also broke the school record for wins with their 13^th victory of 2018.
 

Little Rock vs. Texas State
Date	Nov. 4, 2018
Time	1 p.m. CT
Location	Foley, Ala.
Stadium	Foley Sports Tourism Complex
Stats	StatBroadcast
Video	ESPN+

Trojan Leaders
Purvine put in another great goal-scoring performance, scoring two goals in the semifinal match. Scoring once from open play and again from a Trojan set piece, the senior netted her 11^th and 12^th goals of the season which leads the team. She now has five goals in her last five games. Arola Aparicio Gili had a fantastic game playing in the forward position. She picked up an assist and did a great job creating opportunities for her fellow attacking players. Liesa Seifert had a great game in the defense, using her strength and height to lead her team to another shutout. Natalee Geren also did well to step into a center back role and use her pace to stifle the Panther's attack.
 
Last Time Out
Little Rock came out on the front foot against Georgia State but couldn't find a goal early on. Morgan Smocovich was very active in the first half, firing two shots on goal in the first ten minutes. The Trojans finally broke through when Aparicio Gili sent Purvine through on goal and she rifled the ball into the back of the net to give her team a 1-0 lead. Purvine's headed effort a little over 10 minutes later from a corner whipped in by Smocovich doubled the Little Rock lead. The stellar Trojan defense held on for the remainder of the night.
 
Scouting the Bobcats
Texas State comes into the match with an 11-5-2 record after clinching the top seed in the Sun Belt tournament. The Bobcats are unbeaten in conference play, but one of their draws came against the Trojans. Texas State is coming off a semifinal match that went the full 110 minutes and into a penalty shootout. The Bobcats won the shootout and advanced to the championship game, making it 12 games since the team has lost. Sun Belt Player of the Year Kaylee Davis has 18 goals on the season as her goal scoring presence is something the Trojans will definitely need to deal with in the championship game. Davis has scored in six consecutive games with eight goals during that span.
 
Series History
Little Rock's matchup with Texas State marks the seventh in the teams' history. The Trojans have never beaten the Bobcats as they hold a 5-0-1 all-time series lead. When the teams met this season, the Trojans fought the Bobcats to a 1-1 draw after two overtimes. This was one of two times that Texas State dropped points in Sun Belt play.
 
Looking Ahead
Little Rock will look to clinch a berth in the NCAA Tournament in tonight's championship match.
 
#LittleRocksTeam