The Troy soccer team split its final two road games of the season, losing to Texas State 4-2 on Friday before edging Louisiana 3-2 in overtime on Sunday.
After giving up a flurry of first half goals to the Bobcats in Friday’s loss, Troy bounced back to win in come-from-behind fashion against the Ragin’ Cajuns. Junior forward Emily Stearns scored the golden goal for Troy just 26 seconds into overtime, giving her team an immediate victory.
Going into its game against Troy, Texas State had won eight of its last nine matches, including six straight. The Bobcats extended that streak to seven matches, halting Troy’s offense for most of the match as well as the Trojans’ hopes to climb in the Sun Belt rankings.
Sophomore midfielder Julia Winter was the main source of offense for Troy in the match, getting off five shots and scoring twice. Despite her efforts, it wasn’t enough to overcome a trio of first-half goals from the Bobcats that spanned just under eight minutes.
Winter scored her first goal of the game just under six minutes into the match, giving Troy an early lead. However, it just as quickly conceded that lead as Texas State scored the first of its first‑half goals in the eighth minute.
Winter, who is Troy’s leading scorer this year with eight goals, netted her seventh of the season in the 66th minute off a cross by sophomore Kate Lorenz. It cut Texas State’s lead to one, but it was as close as the Trojans would get for the remainder of the match.
Two days later, the Troy soccer team played against Louisiana at the Ragin’ Cajuns Soccer Facility, spoiling the Cajuns’ final home game of the season.
Troy tallied 12 shots in the first half, but it was Louisiana that scored the first goal of the match.
In the 39th minute, Rebecca Foley found the back of the net, giving the Cajuns a 1-0 lead going into halftime.
In the second half, Louisiana doubled its lead after Lexi Turner scored her first goal of the season to give the hosts a commanding lead.
That’s when the comeback started.
In the 61st minute, Kiersten Edlund scored the Trojans’ first goal off a free kick that deflected off the wall of defenders into the net. Fifteen minutes later, Troy’s Mecca Cobbin stole the ball from a Louisiana defender and crossed the ball to Winter for her eighth goal of the season.
That goal forced an overtime, but it didn’t last long as Stearns gave the Trojans a victory with her game-winning goal less than a minute into extra time.
“It was an excellent team effort to come from behind the way the girls did,” said Head Coach Ged O’Connor. “It is a testament to their character. Now we look forward to moving on to the next game which is the biggest one of year.”
That match is against Georgia Southern, who could easily take away Troy’s fourth seed in the conference should it win Sunday’s match. Kickoff for the Trojans’ senior day at the Troy Soccer Complex against the Eagles is at 1 p.m.
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