CONWAY, S.C. – A pair of second half goals, including the game-winner from
Abril Lucio in the waning seconds, propelled Little Rock to a 2-1 victory at Coastal Carolina Friday evening. The win was the Trojans' first-ever against the Chanticleers as Little Rock improves to 7-6-4 overall and 3-2-3 in Sun Belt play, picking up three crucial points in the standings.
"In the first half I thought we were slow to get into our rhythm, and we talked about at halftime getting back to basics," said head coach
Mark Foster. "I was very pleased at how hard we worked in the second half, scoring some great goals and giving us some prime opportunities. I'm delighted with our mentality as a team. Last week we gave up a late goal, and then rallied to tie it up late, and tonight we gave up a late goal, but scored late for the win. I love how mentally strong we've played and how we've finished the last two games."
After a scoreless first half in which the two teams managed a combined seven shots, Little Rock had some chances early in the second half, capped by
Julia Edholm's goal in the 70th minute where she took the rebound off a cross attempt from Lucio and put it in the right hand corner to put the Trojans up 1-0.
Little Rock conceded a goal to Coastal Carolina in the 79th minute, but kept the attack going over the final minutes of the half. The Trojans had a handful of opportunities from
Karina De Paoli,
Mariella Stephens and
Jana Heinen.
With less than a minute to play in regulation, Heinen and Lucio found themselves on a 2-on-4 breakaway. Heinen sent a pass to Lucio on her right, who was able to stop and make a move to her right, getting past the goalkeeper and putting a shot past a diving Chanticleer defender to give the Trojans the 2-1 lead.
For the game, Little Rock outshot Coastal Carolina 11-9 with both teams putting five shots on goal. Edholm paced the Trojans with three shots while De Paoli had a pair, both of which were just off the mark.
Natalee Geren, Heinen and Stephens all joined Edholm and Lucio with a shot on goal.
In goal,
Saskia Wagner earned the win with four saves and just the one goal allowed in just over 89:19. She left the game briefly after a scary collision in the box off a corner kick, but returned 41 seconds later as
Paige Henry filled in during that brief stretch. The Trojan defense was strong all night against an aggressive Chanticleer attack that held an 11-2 edge in corner kicks.
With the win, Little Rock now has 12 points, moving ahead of Louisiana in to the number seven position with one game left to play. The Trojans head to App State a Sunday afternoon contest which has a quite a bit of postseason seeding ramificiations on the line.
"This will be an incredible challenge to close the regular season," Foster said. "We are playing a team that played last night, so will have an extra day at rest, and we have a long road trip. They got a win and have a lot of confidence, so it should be a spirited game as we both have a lot to play for."
Opening draw between Little Rock and App State is set for 12 p.m. CT at the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex in Boone, North Carolina, streaming live on ESPN+.
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