(PHOTO/Joshua Thurston)
By Caleb Odom
Sports Editor
Troy soccer (5-7-0) came out on top in a defensive battle at home against Arkansas State (6-4-2) to win its first conference match 1-0 this Thursday afternoon.
The Trojans, led by senior goalkeeper Madison Winter who shut out the Red Wolves in the match with four saves, disrupted the Arkansas State offensive attack all day long forcing turnovers throughout the game.
“From our point of view that was a good team,” Head coach Chris Bentley said. “We really played very well in the first half. We created a lot of chances about a very good team.”
Troy’s single goal came from Necee Jennings in the 38th minute, her sixth goal of the season, assisted by Cecilia Thorngren and Kirsten Rendall.
Even though the Trojans scored one goal, they had a wealth of chances against the Red Wolves with 25 total shots, eight of which were on goal.
But for Troy it all came back to the solid defense.
“It was a big game for us,” Winter said. “Arkansas State has always been a tough game for us but I thought our defense stepped up and they did what they needed to do.”
One challenge for the Trojans was some of the team overcoming the flu bug that had Maddie Tieken and Georgia Wallis under the weather.
“Georgia has been sick and she gutted it out today and I thought she had one of her best games,” Bentley said. “Between Maddie and Georgia fighting through some of that stuff. It’s just good to see them fighting for their team.”
Troy next hits the road to take on UALR on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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