Scott McLendon
Staff Writer
The Troy soccer team has now gone four games without a win as it played a 0-0 draw at Mercer on Friday, Sept. 9, and lost at Florida State 1-0 on Sunday, Sept. 11.
The traveling Trojans (4-4-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) put up stalwart defensive performances over the course of both games, allowing 24 total shots—only five on target and just one beating the keeper.
Against Mercer (2-4-1, Southern), the Trojans reeled off 15 shots with three on target, while the hosts managed only six shots. Fifteen was also the number of corners the Trojans forced, while Mercer earned only three such set pieces.
Despite high-caliber performance on both ends of the field, Troy was unable to get a goal in the double-overtime stalemate.
Sophomore * Brooke McKee led the Trojans with six shots and one on frame. Senior forward Abby Reynolds was just behind her with four shots and one on target.
Junior goalkeeper Mikki Lewis had a pleasant evening in front of the goal. Her defense shielded her from any threat to her area.
The match was the Trojans’ fourth shutout so far this season, and the first one since 2014 that they did not concede a shot on goal.
“That was a tough game to not come away with a win,” Head Coach Jason Hamilton said. “Fifteen shots and 15 corners show we created a lot, but we just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.
“We scored on the first corner of the game, but it was called back and their goalkeeper made a couple of good saves in the first 10 minutes of the game. Defensively, we were very pleased not giving up a shot on goal. We are going to need that momentum going into Sunday’s game against Florida State.”
Two days later, it took the No. 1-ranked Florida State team the full 90 minutes of regulation, plus 52 seconds of overtime, to finally overcome the Trojan defense and dodge an upset on its home turf at the Seminole Soccer Complex.
The Seminole offense pestered the Trojans all night, forcing Lewis into four saves and racking up seven corners. This time, the Trojan defense allowed 18 shots to fly at its net, but only five were on target.
The visitors were held to merely two shots. Freshman midfielder Kiersten Edlund shot the only one on target.
“I’m extremely proud of how our girls battled today,” head coach Jason Hamilton said. “We took one of the best teams in the country to overtime at their place, and we are going to walk away with our heads high. That is a big confidence booster heading into conference play.”
The Trojans will look to turn solid road defensive displays into home victories as they return for a three-game home stretch. Troy will first play host to Appalachian State on Friday, Sept. 16, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
