LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Red-hot Little Rock continues its homestand Thursday, hosting last-place Western Illinois as OVC Offensive Player of the Week and nationally ranked goal scorer
Maria Schuller looks to extend her scoring streak and help the Trojans solidify a top-three seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
Little Rock (5-3-5, 3-0-3 OVC) has won two straight and is coming off a dominant 4-1 victory over Morehead State behind Schuller's hat trick, while Western Illinois (1-15, 0-6 OVC) enters still searching for its first OVC win after a 1-0 loss to Lindenwood.
With three games remaining in the regular season, the race for the top seeds in the OVC standings is tightening. Eastern Illinois leads the conference with 16 points, followed by Little Rock, Southern Indiana, and Tennessee Tech, who are tied for second with 12 points each. Lindenwood sits close behind in fifth with 10 points.
The Trojans have drawn both Southern Indiana and Tennessee Tech 1-1 and have yet to face Eastern Illinois later this week in what could be a pivotal matchup. Before that, Little Rock will look to take care of business at home Thursday as the Leathernecks come to town.
Little Rock and Western Illinois have met just three times, with two of those meetings coming since Little Rock joined the OVC. The Trojans have won both conference matchups 1-0, with the lone loss coming in 2012 during a nonconference game.
Western Illinois has struggled this season, sitting in last place in the OVC and still seeking its first conference win. The Leathernecks' only victory came in their season opener against St. Ambrose. Since then, they've dropped 15 straight, allowing 60 goals, an average of four per game, while scoring just 0.33 goals per match during that stretch.
Little Rock, which boasts the conference's highest-scoring offense and three players ranked in the OVC's top 10 for goals, will look to keep the pressure on. Schuller and fellow sophomore
Maggie Turner each average more than 0.40 goals per game, with Schuller leading the way at 0.77. Senior
Amaya Arias isn't far behind at 0.33 goals per game, impressive production for a midfielder.
Defensively, the Trojans continue to improve with freshman
Emily Nahon returning from injury and fellow freshman
Clair Silvestro providing both defensive stability and an offensive spark from the back line.
Head coach
Kelly Farrell said the focus for her team remains on finishing strong down the stretch.
"We're getting to the point in the season where every game counts, and Western [Illinois] is no different," Farrell said. "It's really exciting to have two of our last three games at home. They'll present some different challenges for us, but I think the girls know what's at stake. Three points is the goal. A win on Thursday puts us in a really good position moving forward. Eastern Illinois will be a test, as will Lindenwood next week, but we're taking it game by game and are excited to play in front of our home crowd again."
Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. instead of the usual night slot due to SpectacuaLR, a fundraiser for Trojan Athletics. The game will stream live on ESPN+, with updates available on social media.
For the latest information on Little Rock Soccer, check out LRTrojans.com. You can also follow the team on social media at @LittleRockSOC on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
Get the latest Trojan news, including the weekly Trojan Report, delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for Little Rock Trojan E-News
here.
#LittleRocksTeam | #RockSolid
