LITTLE ROCK - The Little Rock soccer team (1-3, 1-1 Sun Belt) was searching to get back against the Central Arkansas (5-1-1) this evening in the second round of the Governor's I-40 Showdown, presented by Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield, but the Trojans couldn't stop the Bears from netting one goal in each half to come away on top, 2-0.
"Our mindset was really good," remarked head coach
Mark Foster regarding the team's psyche headed into tonight's game. "Although anyone watching the performance and seeing how flat we were at times might question that, but honestly the confidence was there. We were just off a little all over. Our ideas were good, but we weren't connecting those passes. We weren't quite able to play with the same intensity as we were the past couple of games."
Little Rock did have opportunities throughout the match but ultimately was unable to follow through.
Morgan Smocovich was the offensive drive for the Trojans in the first half, taking four of her five shots during the first 45 minutes, but the senior's powerful leg sent the ball high out top on her best-placed shots, with her singular shot on goal stopped by the Central Arkansas goalie.
Meanwhile, the Bears connected for the first time in the 25th minute of play on a high cross from the right to the center, where their lead scorer managed a reverse header into the net.
"The second half looked much better but still not enough to turn the game around," added Coach Foster. "We subbed a couple of younger girls in to give them some minutes and experience and they fought hard, but we weren't able to get enough quality in the end to get a goal to get back in it. Start to finish we weren't at our best tonight and to beat UCA we needed to be at our best."
In the 54th minute, Central Arkansas made a surprise launch from 30 yards out that slipped just above Trojan goalkeeper
Saskia Wagner's hands. In an effort to retaliate,
Mari Young stepped up to make four of her five attempts in the second half, but contrastingly the sophomore's low shots were stopped by a diving Bears goalkeeper.
The most frustratingly close attempt of the night was arguably
Julia Edholm's in the second half. The sophomore sent a rocket aimed just below the top woodwork, but the keeper jumped high enough to bump the ball above and beyond the net.
Regardless, Coach Foster isn't entirely fazed by tonight's results. "This is a good group of girls and we've gotten glimpses this season of how good they can be, we're just striving for that consistency. If they stay positive and we as coaches keep believing in them, I know it'll come pretty soon."
The Trojans, now finished with their nonconference slate for the 2020 season, will hit the road for their next two Sun Belt games. Little Rock will play at Louisiana this Friday, October 9th with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff before traveling to ULM on Sunday, October 11th for a 1:00 p.m. match.
For the latest information on Little Rock Soccer, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockSOC on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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