The Troy women’s soccer team dropped two straight road matches last weekend. The road trip began with a 3-0 loss against Mercer and the struggles continued with a 4-0 loss against Samford.
In both matches, Troy’s offense struggled in the first half, and their opponents took full advantage of it. Mercer scored all three of its goals in the first 21 minutes of the match last Thursday. Although the Trojans’ offense began to build momentum after the break, the match was out of reach.
“We didn’t start the game well and were punished,” head coach Stuart Gore said to Troy Athletics. “In the second half we showed more fight, but the damage was done.
“We have to learn and move on.”
Even though the outcome was not what the Trojans desired, there were some bright spots within the match. Isabella Tomeo, a redshirt freshman goalkeeper from West Islip, New York, made her collegiate debut and played the entire second half. Tomeo shut down the Bears and saved three shots.
Olivia Simpson added another pair of impressive performances. The senior defender from Kingsland, Georgia has appeared both as a right back and as an attacker this season.
Simpson has excelled in the versatile role that Gore has put her in, and the veteran led the team with a career-high two shots in both matches over the weekend.
Troy’s clash with Samford last Sunday was a lot closer than the score suggested. The Bulldogs got off to an early 2-0 lead after a pair of goals by Layton Glisson and Hanna Himes in the first 27 minutes of the match.
The Trojans’ offense began to find its rhythm, and senior midfielder Riley Rojahn matched Simpson with two shots of her own. Troy recorded nine shots in the second half with four of them going on goal, but the Trojans could not find the net.
“We played much better in the second half, creating shots and corners, so we have something that we can build on this coming week,” Gore said to Troy Athletics.
Senior goalkeeper Une Georgsen had another impressive showing against the Bullwdogs. The Norwegian goalie matched her career high with five saves for the second time already this season. However, Samford’s offense was relentless, and the Bulldogs finished the match with four goals and 25 shots.
The Trojans will look to wipe these two matches from their memory and finish their road trip on a high note on Thursday against in-state rival UAB. After Troy’s Thursday night matchup against the Blazers, the Trojans return home to the Troy Soccer Complex to play Lipscomb at 3 p.m. All Troy students can get into Sunday’s match free with their student ID, and both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
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