CHARLESTON, Ill. – Little Rock women's soccer took over first place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with a 1-0 victory over Eastern Illinois on Sunday afternoon at Lakeside Field. The win keeps the Trojans undefeated in OVC play at 5-0-3 and extends their unbeaten streak to eight matches.
Sophomore forward Maria Schuller netted the game's only goal in the 22nd minute, her 12th of the season, after a well-placed flick from midfielder Amaya Arias. Schuller won a foot race to the loose ball and buried it past the keeper to put Little Rock ahead early. Arias earned the assist as the Trojans grabbed control of the match.
Goalkeeper Peyton Urban tallied her seventh shutout of the year with four saves, anchoring a defense that stayed organized and disciplined for all 90 minutes. Little Rock outshot Eastern Illinois 14-11 and generated consistent pressure throughout the afternoon despite cold, windy conditions.
Head coach Kelly Farrell was pleased with the complete team effort in challenging conditions.
"Yeah, I'm really excited about the result today," Farrell said. "I thought it was probably one of our more complete performances. I obviously challenged the team to come out and get a result today. I told them we control a lot of our own destiny. There were some tough conditions weather-wise, but I thought we played really, really well. I'm looking forward to next week—we've got a big battle against Lindenwood. We're at home, which I think is going to be huge. We're undefeated at home and trying to keep it that way. I'm excited for next Sunday and to see where we end up in the OVC."
Arias, who assisted on the decisive goal, reflected on the team's growing momentum.
"The game went pretty well. In the first 15 minutes, we struggled a lot, but then we got it back," Arias said. "We started connecting more and we ended up putting 1-0 on the board."
When asked how she feels heading into the final stretch of the season, Arias added, "I feel really great with this team. We've got a lot of star players. Everybody's been doing their job. We just need to be more cutthroat and score more goals. I think the season is going pretty well."
With the win, Little Rock improves to 7-3-5 overall and 5-0-3 in conference play, sitting alone atop the OVC standings. The Trojans return home next Sunday to host Lindenwood in their final regular season matchup, looking to remain undefeated both at home and in conference.
