Wild Second Half Comeback Comes up Just Short Against South Alabama

Sunday, October 11

Troy, Ala.

1 p.m.

Troy University

0-5-1, 0-5-1

South Alabama

5-2-0, 5-1-0

South Alabama

Troy

Wild Second Half Comeback Comes up Just Short Against South Alabama

10/11/2020 5:09:00 PM | Soccer

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. -- Despite scoring a pair of second half goals and holding the potent South Alabama Jaguars offense to just 13 total shots, the Troy soccer team dropped a tough decision, 3-2, Sunday afternoon at the Troy Soccer Complex.

In defeat, freshman Regielly Halldorsdottir tallied her second goal of the season, while Melissa Kuya-Strobel scored her first goal of the season. Freshman Lindsey LaRoche made five saves in net for the Trojans (0-5-1, 0-5-1 Sun Belt).

After an even first 40 minutes of play, the Jaguars (5-2, 5-1 Sun Belt) broke the ice when Morgan Cross found the back of the net in the 43rd minute of play.

Following the halftime break, the first scoring chance of the second half came when Kailey Littelford's dangerous shot was saved by LaRoche in the 50th minute.

Just over 15 minutes later, the Trojans were awarded a free-kick when Erin Bloomfield was dragged to the ground just outside the Jaguars 18-yard box. The foul on Ana Helmert earned the Trojans a free-kick attempt from about 20-yards out.

On the ensuing free-kick, Halldorsdottir calmly slotted a right-footed shot past South Alabama keeper Anita Gudmundsdottir.

After neither side was able to find a scoring opportunity, the Jaguars struck for a pair of goals just 19 second apart. The Jaguars second goal was again scored by Cross, while the third goal was scored by Izzy Ford after Brenna McPartlan slotted a perfect pass.

As they have all season, the young Trojans continued to fight as Kuya-Strobel took a pass from freshman Sydney Babineaux and lofted an impressive strike from 30 yards out to cut the score to 3-2 with just 2:22 remaining in the match.

The Trojans held much of the possession down the final 142 seconds, but another strong scoring chance did not materialize.

Troy returns to action next Friday afternoon when Appalachian State visits Troy. Kickoff from the Troy Soccer Complex is set for 4 p.m.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
• The Trojans scored multiple goals for the first time this season.
• Babineaux's assist in the 87th-minute was the first of her career.
• Four of Troy's five losses have come by a single goal.
• Sophomore Courtney Brown made her first career Troy appearance. She played 27-minutes total.
• LaRoche recorded her fourth game with at least five saves
• Halldorsdottir's goal that tied the match at one, was Troy's 16th set piece goal in the last 23 matches.
• The strike ties her for the team lead in goals with Kate Eubanks.
• The Trojans have scored four set piece goals this season.
• Freshman Matilda Jakobsson cleared away Gracie Wilson's 23rd-minute shot for the Trojans first team save of the season.

GED TALKS:
"This afternoon was certainly a battle against a really talented South Alabama team. I thought we had some good chances, but we just came up one goal short, playing eight freshman against a quality opponent is always going to be a challenge. Despite the final result, I'm very proud of my young team. We made mistakes, but you are always going to make mistakes. It's unacceptable to record another defeat, but I firmly believe that we're better than our record indicates. We were down 3-1 late in the game and we kept fighting. As a team, we just need to keep working. If we do that, eventually the tide will turn so to speak and we'll start to earn the results we expect."

On the team scoring twice, and off a set piece:
"Anytime we get a set piece we feel like we're dangerous because we continue to work on them in practice. But today the positive was we were able to find the back of the net twice, and scored a pace of play goal."

Freshman Matilda Jakobsson:
"We did a good job of keeping our head up and battling until the end. I'm proud to be a part of this team. Even if we make a mistake we do a great job of continuing to work hard for each other. It says a lot about our team that we found a way to score a second goal even though we were down two goals late. I think we played a good game overall. Regielly is an amazing player and her free kicks are amazing. She's a great teammate and we're very lucky to have her."

On what the experience of playing college soccer has been like:
"We need this experience because of how young we are. We all want to win and improve, both as individuals and as a team. We just have to give it time and continue to learn from our mistakes. Now we need to continue to look forward and not allow the losses to get us down."