Scott McLendon
Staff Writer
The Troy soccer team’s struggles continued against Georgia State and Georgia Southern as it drew and lost to each team, respectively.
Both games added to Troy’s current four-game double-overtime streak, and its sixth overtime game in its past seven contests.
At Georgia State (4-3-5, 1-1-3 Sun Belt), the Trojans outshot their hosts 16-5 and racked up nine corners. Troy (5-6-3, 1-2-2 Sun Belt) was stifled in front of goal, however, with six Panther saves controlling all shots on target.
Junior goalkeeper Mikki Lewis was only called upon to make two saves this past Friday. Sophomore forward Brooke McKee took six shots, one more than the entire Georgia State team.
Troy’s defense was stalwart throughout the match, allowing zero corners in the game.
“I thought the team played absolutely fantastic tonight,” Head Coach Jason Hamilton said. “Getting any kind of result on the road is very difficult in our conference.
“Just like with the previous two games, when we dominate the statistical categories such as shots and corners, it shows we are doing a lot of things right offensively and defensively. We just need to put the ball in the back of the goal.”
The Trojans followed up the draw with a loss against Georgia Southern at Eagle Field on Sunday.
The teams played an even first half, with Troy firing four shots to the Eagles’ (5-7-1, 2-4 Sun Belt) three. The Trojans were forced into one save, while the opposing keeper collected two.
Although the Trojans took seven second-half shots to Georgia Southern’s four, both teams earned a goal apiece before the end of regulation.
The hosts were first to draw blood. Sarah Price finished from 12 yards out
in the 62nd minute.
The traveling Trojans got an equalizer by the grace of a deflection. Freshman midfielder Julia Winter grabbed the tying goal for the Trojans in the 72nd minute.
That hard work was undone in the 102nd minute when Georgia Southern scored the winning goal.
“This was a disappointing result,” Hamilton said after the game. “It was another game where we should not have lost or tied, but we were unable to be opportunistic in front of the goal and then we made poor decisions in overtime to lose the game.
“When you make yourself play an extra 30 minutes over the weekend because you’re unable to finish the game in regulation, you make it extremely hard on yourself to get any kind of results, especially on the road.”
McKee once again led the Trojans in shots, with five.
Troy’s next match will be hosted by South Alabama on Friday, Oct. 7, at 7 p.m.
