LITTLE ROCK, Ark.- Despite the run of play favoring Little Rock throughout the contest with 6 shots on goal to the visitors' 2, the Trojans must settle for a draw in their home-opener rivalry matchup with Central Arkansas.
Little Rock withstood brief early pressure from the Bears, before settling into the first half nicely. The Trojans had some good opportunities early, arguably the best of which coming in the 18th minute when
Sanaa Williams' header from
Colleen Gilliland's corner traveled just wide of the far post.
The Trojans continued to pressure UCA into the second half, outshooting the Bears 8 to 2 in the period, but were unable to find the winner. Freshman
Kaitlin Graeber, who leads all Trojans in minutes played this season, put in another solid shift in the middle of the park, controlling the tempo for Little Rock in her 82 minute evening.
Peyton Urban and first-year Trojan
Marie Cimatti combined to keep the shutout, each playing a half of the match in net.
Senior center back
Sanaa Williams played all 90 minutes for
Kelly Farrell's group Thursday night. Williams played a large part in Little Rock's shutout performance alongside her center back partner, first-year Trojan, and newly-named captain
Mykena Turner. Sophomore
Amaya Arias also logged 90 minutes for Little Rock, leading the Trojans with 3 shots in the match.
Takeaways
The Trojans complete their first shutout of 2023.
Central Arkansas have now won just 1 from their last 13 road matches dating back to the beginning of last season.
The Trojans earned their first result against UCA in their last 4 matchups, and the 3rd in their first 4 games in 2023.
What's Next
Little Rock moves to 0-1-3 on the year, with their next chance to pick up their first win coming Sunday on the road vs. Grambling State at 11:30am. Next week the Trojans travel to Pine Bluff for a Thursday matchup with UAPB, and return home Sunday, September 10th for a non-conference matchup with Alabama A&M.
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