Trojans Mount Furious Late Surge to Earn 2-2 Draw Against Panthers

LITTLE ROCK – Trailing with 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Little Rock scored twice in the final nine minutes, including the game-tying goal from Karina De Paoli with just over a minute remaining in regulation to earn a 2-2 double overtime draw with Georgia State in the home finale. Little Rock sits at 6-6-4 on the year and 2-3-3 in Sun Belt play, earning a point in the league standings.
 
Trailing 1-0 in the 81st minute, Little Rock evened the match off a strong play in front of the net as Skylar Garner sent a pass from just inside the near post into the middle of the box, knocked home off the left foot of Mariella Stephens to even the game at 1-1.
 
Georgia State responded three minutes later, slipping a goal past Paige Henry to up the Panther lead to 2-1 in the 84th minute. But the Trojans would respond again as Stephens was on the giving end this time, sending a pass to De Paoli who was settled 20 yards to the right of the goal, firing a shot high that hooked just into the upper left corner with 1:09 remaining to even the match at 2-2.
 
The offensive surge to muscle out a draw was a fitting result for the focus head coach Mark Foster had heading into the final home match of 2021.
 
"Prior to that, we had talked about our seniors, and wanting to send them out in a fitting way," Foster said. "We talked about how we don't control the outcome, but we do control the effort, and we wanted to make sure we made those seniors proud when they walked out of the gate after the game. We had that 'never say die' attitude and I thought we showed a lot of resiliency."
 
Little Rock controlled the tempo for the majority of the afternoon, registering 21 shots, including 12 on goal, compared to just 12 total shots and five on target for Georgia State. Julia Edholm led the way for the Trojans with six shots, four of which were on target, with Fanney Einarsdottir adding three shots and five others with a pair, including the duo of Stephens and De Paoli, both of which were on goal.
 
The offensive pressure for Little Rock resulted in 10 saves for Georgia State goalkeeper Maria Subies, who Foster credited as being the player of the match. For the Trojans, goalkeeper Paige Henry registered a pair of saves.
 
Another career milestone was reached on the day as well as Bergros Asgeirsdottir, playing in her final game at Coleman, played all 110 minutes and became the first player in program history to surpass 8,000 career minutes played. She also is the Trojans' all-time leader in both games played (92) and games started (86).
 
While the draw wasn't the outcome Foster was hoping for, he continues to see positives in his team as the Trojans begin a crucial road trip to the Carolinas to end the regular season.
 
"I've seen enough from this team to know that we have the capability of playing for a tournament title and possibly reaching the NCAA tournament again," Foster said. "What we've been lacking is consistency, and so that will be a focus as we head into these final two weeks is to maintain that consistency. If we can do that, I think we could be a dangerous team."
 
The stretch run begins with a Friday evening road showdown with Coastal Carolina. Opening draw against the Chanticleers is set for 6 p.m. CT from Conway, South Carolina.
 
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