Trojans Earn Tournament Spot; Run Away from ULM

Sunday, October 21

Monroe, La.

1:00 p.m.

Troy University

ULM

Photo by: Tyler Myers

Trojans Earn Tournament Spot; Run Away from ULM

10/21/2012 4:14:00 PM | Soccer

By: Matt Mays

Box Score

MONROE, La. – The Troy soccer team used three second-half goals to defeat ULM 3-0 on the road on Sunday, earning a berth in the Sun Belt Soccer Championships for the fourth consecutive season.

Troy (8-9-2, 3-5-1) currently sits in seventh place, but with a game still to play against South Alabama next weekend, can move up as high as fifth with a little help from others teams in the league.

The Trojans, at 3-5-1 in Sun Belt play, sit over a game ahead of ninth place Louisiana-Lafayette, who sits at 1-6-2 in Sun Belt play, giving the Trojans their fourth straight conference tournament appearance.

Troy got the berth thanks to its seventh shutout of the season (second straight) and a second-half surge on the road at ULM (4-14-0, 1-8-0), led by two successful penalty kicks.

“In the first half, it could have gone either way,” Troy head coach Chris Bentley said. “But we were ourselves again in the second half. We looked better in possession and created a lot of opportunities for ourselves.”

The first opportunity came right of the halftime break as Chelsey Williams buried a 49th minute penalty kick to put Troy up 1-0. The goal was Williams' team-leading eighth of the season.

Although Troy created many second-half chances, the score stayed within a goal until the 82nd minute when Chanel Elgin buried home a Williams' pass, giving Troy a 2-0 lead. The goal was Elgin's second of the season, off of Williams' fourth assist.

Louise Cheng extended the lead just a minute later as she put home her first career penalty kick attempt, giving Troy its final 3-0 margin.

Troy outshot ULM 22-13 on the day, including a 16-8 margin in the second half. Troy got 14 shots on goal while ULM had six.

Katie Comeno-Lewis stopped all six as the Trojans' goalie went the distance to pick up the shutout.

Troy returns to the pitch on Friday when they travel to South Alabama for both teams' regular season finale. Troy will then travel right back to Mobile, Ala., where the conference tournament begins on Wednesday, October 31.

For more information, including complete seeding scenarios, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter at @TroyAthletics or on Facebook at Facebook.com/TroyAthletics.