Trojans Prepares for Tough Conference Weekend

TROY, Ala. – The Troy University Trojans soccer team will be at home for the second consecutive weekend, playing two of their final three home matches of the season, taking on perennial Sun Belt Conference favorites Denver and North Texas.

Troy (8-3-1, 3-1 Sun Belt) fell in their first conference match of the weekend to FIU last Friday; however, they were able to come from behind for a victory over Florida Atlantic just two days later.

"The best learning experiences come from failures, and when you are winning it is hard to focus on failures,” said head coach Chris Bentley. “The team is really focusing this week, and video and training sessions have been great."

Despite their first heartbreaking loss in seven matches, Troy is building off of the momentum of their last win and the fact that their relatively young team is experiencing their best conference start in school history. This includes beating Florida Atlantic for the first time in school history.

"It is important for us to recognize that the teams that have historically been better than us are teams in the past,” Bentley said. “We are a different team this year and so are all the other teams and the past is insignificant when it comes to dealing with what is in front of us."

The Trojans struggled against FIU in their attack and maintaining possession of the ball, as the Golden Panthers held possession for the majority of play. Although Troy improved on their attack in their match against Florida Atlantic, they are still looking to build on it further.

"The focus this week has been on our ability to build and penetrate," Bentley said. "It is important that we go into the games this weekend realizing that mistakes will happen, but we will need to capitalize when our chances come."

North Texas (7-5-1, 2-2 Sun Belt) enters Troy on a two-match conference win streak. The Mean Green are nipping at the heels of the Trojans in the Sun Belt standings as the Trojans are currently in third place.

Meanwhile, Denver (10-2, 4-0 Sun Belt) is tied with FIU for first place in the conference, and the four-time Sun Belt tournament champions eliminated the Trojans home from the tournament last season.

"Both teams this weekend are ranked in the region and Denver has been in and out of the national rankings," Bentley said. "We we will need to put 90 minutes of effort out focusing on our game in both games if we expect to get results.”

The Trojans will face off against North Texas on Friday at 3 pm and Denver Sunday at 12 noon in the friendly confines of Troy Soccer Complex.

Admission is free to all home soccer matches, and the matches will be available on All-Access via TroyTrojans.com.

Troy University Athletics

Trojans Prepares for Tough Conference Weekend

Next Event

Related Videos