PINE BLUFF, Ark.- After drawing their last four games, Little Rock headed to Pine Bluff with hopes of securing their first win of the year.
Neither side established themselves on the front foot early, with multiple giveaways from both teams. After an open first 15 minutes, the Trojans began to grow into the contest. They created chance after chance, and eventually got their breakthrough in the 25th minute, when
Karina De Paoli scored her first goal of the season from an
Abbie Smith cross.
Little Rock continued to create and got help from positive first half performances from substitutes
Cameron Barreiro and
Addison Yinger. The Trojans entered the half having out shot UAPB 10-2, but only led by a goal.
Not long before the hour mark, Little Rock doubled their advantage. Freshman midfielder
Kaitlin Graeber, who was poised and calm on the ball all afternoon, beat the Pine Bluff fullback down the right wing and whipped in a cross which found the head of
Emily Jensen, resulting in the Trojans 2nd goal.
Karina De Paoli grabbed her second goal of the game in the 80th minute, when she fired in a rocket to the back post from a step outside of the box. Not a full minute later,
Addison Yinger, grabbed Little Rock's 4th goal, and put the game to bed.
OVC Goalkeeper of the week
Marie Cimatti combined once more with Sophomore
Peyton Urban to keep a clean sheet, their 2nd shutout of the year.
Takeaways
- The Trojans have conceded just once in their last 3 games.
- With just two games until OVC play begins, Little Rock is tied with Lindenwood and SEMO with the best non-conference records in the league.
- Center back pairing Sanaa Williams and Mykena Turner are the only Trojans to log over 500 minutes in the first 6 games of the year.
What's Next
Little Rock moves to 1-1-4 on the year, with just two games left until Ohio Valley Conference play begins. The Trojans are back home on Sunday, as they will face Alabama A&M at the Coleman Sports Complex at noon. It'll be the second match ever between Little Rock and Alabama A&M. The Trojans took the first, a 1-0 victory in Huntsville on September 14th of last year.
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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