Box Score LITTLE ROCK, AR. – Senior forward Maria Schuller delivered a historic performance Sunday afternoon, recording the first Little Rock hat trick in more than a decade as the Trojans earned a 4-1 victory over Morehead State at the Coleman Sports & Recreation Complex. The win keeps Little Rock unbeaten in Ohio Valley Conference play and marked the program's first hat trick since 2014 and the first under head coach Kelly Farrell.
Schuller opened the scoring in the seventh minute, finishing a cross from Clair Silvestro to give the Trojans an early lead. After Morehead State leveled the match in the 56th minute, Schuller put Little Rock back in front with a composed penalty kick just five minutes later. She completed her hat trick in the 86th minute, securing her first collegiate three-goal outing and the Trojans' fifth win of the season.
Maggie Turner added the team's third goal in the 73rd minute, assisted by Amaya Arias, as Little Rock's attack erupted for three goals in the second half. Goalkeeper Peyton Urban made four saves to collect her fifth win of the season while the Trojans outshot the Eagles 16-10 and controlled the pace late.
"I'm obviously happy with the win," said head coach Kelly Farrell. "You know, I think we've got four games left, so every game is super important right now. So coming away with a victory was big. I thought we started off the game really well. I thought the rest of the first half certainly wasn't our best, so I'm happy with the team's response to come out and show a little bit of character and score some goals. Obviously, Maria with the hat trick is huge. I don't think we've had a hat trick at least since I've been here, so that's big for the program. But, you know, I think the team needs to take away the idea that we need to put the game away early and not let people creep back in. So we've got three games left. Thursday's a huge one, and yeah, looking forward to it."
"It's definitely a good feeling," said Schuller. "Couldn't do it with any of the people that are around me, I couldn't do it without them. We have to keep our heads up no matter what happens. We have to understand that we're in a really good position right now, so the ball's in our court."
The Trojans improve to 5-3-5 overall and 3-0-3 in OVC play, now sitting second in the conference standings as the regular season enters its final stretch.
Up Next:
Little Rock will play at home this upcoming Thursday in an early 2 p.m. matchup against Western Illinois before heading to Eastern Illinois for their final road contest on Sunday.
