LITTLE ROCK – The Little Rock soccer team (5-5-6, 2-1-4 Sun Belt) secured a comeback victory in their last home game of the season this afternoon, defeating Appalachian State (4-8-2, 1-4-1 Sun Belt) thanks to two goals in the second half after heading into the final 45 minutes down by one.
Julia Edholm collected her fourth and fifth goals of the season, as well as her career, within two minutes of each other. In the 63rd minute,
Bergros Asgeirsdottir made a long pass up the right side of field to
Maddy Peake, who turned the ball over to Edholm. Edholm spun the ball into the back left corner of the goal for the equalizer. Just two minutes later,
Jessica Carmichael was awarded the assist after passing into the middle for Edholm to head the ball past the keeper into the net.
"I think she is a fantastic instinctual soccer player," said head coach
Mark Foster of Edholm, the leading goal scorer for Little Rock. "Whether she plays at the back or at midfield, the ball seems to find her. So today we decided to try her up front. When she is that good all over the park, it isn't luck. The girl knows how to play. I know she is a freshman, but she is a very experienced soccer player. It showed for us this season in big moments and today was no bigger."
Although Appalachian State managed to put the first number on the board, scoring after a free kick near the corner went inside the box and was fired off by multiple Mountaineers until it went into the net, the Trojans came back in the second half with purpose.
"I told the girls at half that I believed in them, but they had to show the desire to be in the tournament, the desire to make their season last, and that they love doing this," added Foster. "I was delighted with how they reacted, and I could not have asked for more. Where earlier in the season we showed nervousness in the last 10 minutes of the game, we were more mature today. We showed we learned our lessons from earlier in the season. We were able to play in a mature way in the last 10 minutes and see out the game."
The aggression the Trojans put into the second half is reflected by the shots in each interval: just one in the first compared to eight in the second.
Morgan Smocovich and Asgeirsdottir showed strong ball control throughout the field and earned shots on goal, while several other players on the offense also were able to create opportunities. While the Mountaineers managed to break away a few times, earning six corners to Little Rock's two, the home defense continued to step up again and again.
The Trojans will take to the road for the final three games of conference play. Next Thursday, Little Rock heads to Troy for a 7:00 p.m. kick off, followed by a Saturday match against South Alabama at 1:00 p.m. Going into today, Troy and South Alabama are sitting at first and second in the Sun Belt standings.
"In league play, you really have to rack your points up at home," noted Foster. "I'm delighted we went through league play undefeated at home. We only conceded two goals at home all year. It is massive and it takes the pressure off us. It allows us to go into the final three games not chasing our tail. We still need to get points on the board to make it into the tournament but today takes the pressure off a little bit."
For the latest information on Little Rock Soccer, make sure to check out
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