Trojans Set to Open Season with Rivalry Matchup in Mobile

Sunday, September 20

Mobile, Ala.

12:30 p.m.

Troy University

South Alabama

Trojans Set to Open Season with Rivalry Matchup in Mobile

9/18/2020 10:32:00 AM | Soccer

Live Stats

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. -- After seeing its 2020 competitive season delayed by nearly three weeks, the Troy Trojans women's soccer program opens its season Sunday afternoon (1 p.m.) in Mobile, in a matchup between the top-two teams in last month's Sun Belt Conference preseason poll.

The 2020 Trojans look to build off a successful 2019 campaign, that saw the program go 12-3-4 (2^nd most victories in school history) overall and 7-1-2 in Sun Belt Conference matches. The seven overall conference victories are the most in school history, and Troy finished just two points behind its in-state rival for the top spot in the SBC.

Projected to finish second in the preseason poll, the Trojans do return five starters from last season's squad including first team All-Sun Belt Conference selection Kate Eubanks, right back Karina Valeriano, midfielder Alisa Detlefsen, and forward Melissa Kuya-Strobel and forward Taytum Terrell.

The Trojans return to action next weekend with a pair of matches at Appalachian State (Friday) and Coastal Carolina (Sunday). Kick-off from Boone is scheduled for 1 p.m. central on Friday.

HOW TO FOLLOW: Troy (0-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0 Sun Belt) at 🚫 (0-1-0 Overall, 0-0-0 Sun Belt)
DATE: September 20, 2020
KICKOFF: 12:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Sage Park (Mobile, Ala.)
LIVE VIDEO (E+): gotroy.us/3msLBfj
LIVE STATS: TroyStats.com
TWITTER: @TroyTrojansWSOC

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK:
The Trojans will welcome 14 newcomers to Troy this season. With so many new faces, head coach Ged O'Connor might start as many as six or seven newcomers for this weekend's opener. Freshman Lindsey LaRoche will battle returning goal keeper Gaby Cossette for the starting role, while freshmen Erin Bloomfield, Regielly Halldorsdottir and Sydney Babineaux should all compete for starting spots.

FORWARD THINKING:
The Trojans return two of the top scoring options from a season ago in Kuya-Strobel and Terrell. One of the most dynamic freshmen in the Sun Belt a season ago, Kuya-Strobel scored five goals and added three assists. Her 13 points were the third most on the Trojans roster. After missing the first seven matches of the season due to injury, Terrell made an immediate impact for the Trojans, scoring four goals. Terrell tallied a hat trick in her first start of the season, a 7-1 Troy victory over ULM (Sept. 29).

RIVALRY WEEK:
With a victory, Troy would earn its third consecutive victory over its biggest Sun Belt Conference rival and its third consecutive victory in Mobile. Throughout the course of the rivalry neither side has won three consecutive regular season matchups or three straight road contests. The Trojans lead the all-time regular season matchup, having won eight of the 14 regular season matchups.

BEAT 🚫
The Jaguars enter Sunday's match looking to tally the programs first victory of the season. In their lone contest back on Sept. 6, the Jaguars lost to Louisiana 2-1 in double-overtime. Despite being a match between two Sun Belt Conference programs, the matchup in Foley was marked as a non-conference match. In the loss, Brenna McPartlan scored a 15^th minute goal while Anna Brunner made three saves in her first career match.

GED TALKS:
"At this point, we're just ready to get to game time. It will be a relief for both teams and coaching staffs to actually kickoff on Sunday. That's our first thought. Hopefully the game gets going okay and everyone stays safe and healthy. Mobile has had some bad weather this week, but I think this matchup will be a great way to start the season because there is a big rivalry between the two schools. Fortunately, I think we have a great group of players and an excellent staff. It should be a great environment for the girls to go out and play well. We're looking forward to getting back out there and playing."

On overcoming adversity this week:
"Some of our players are struggling but I think it's a great experience for them. I've talked to our young team about what they're overcoming on a daily basis to be able to play soccer. We're trying to keep everything in perspective. There's so much going on in the world right now and so soccer can be a bit of a distraction for our girls. I've told them to go out there and enjoy it. We'll take the next couple of days to do some final preparation and hopefully the scoreboard reflects a Troy victory at the end of the game on Sunday."