Soccer splits opening weekend, falls to No. 10 Florida State on the road

Wesley Kirchharr The Troy soccer team kicked off the 2018 season last Thursday, downing Jacksonville 2-0 before falling to No. 10 Florida State on the road Sunday. The Trojans (1-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) scored the first goal of the 2018 campaign in the 25th minute against the Dolphins. Junior midfielder Maddie Brune made a play off a deflected corner kick to snag the team’s first of two goals of the day. The second of these came late in the 51st minute. Junior forward Kate Lorenz picked up her first assist of the year on what was nearly her first goal of the year. Senior midfielder Natalie Melillo collected the shot and sent it back for the final goal for either squad, leaving the score to stand 2-0 in Troy’s favor. In a team heavy with freshman talent, eight Trojans made their first debut in cardinal and white. Freshman goalkeeper Acelya Aydogmus, along with six others, made her first appearance in a college matchup. Aydogmus preserved Troy’s shutout with four saves while the Trojan offense had nine shots on target, outpacing the Dolphins by five. In Sunday’s matchup against the nationally ranked Seminoles, Troy’s offense only found the space for one shot before falling 5-0 in Tallahassee. The Trojans faced a Seminole defense that has yet to give up a goal following games against Vanderbilt and Troy. Troy’s defense gave up the first goal of the day in the 13th minute answered by another shortly after in the 27th minute. Troy’s lone shot attempt came in the 46th minute when Melillo fired from the left wing. The shot fell off target and the Seminoles responded shortly thereafter with their third, fourth and fifth goals of the contest. Troy now continues a six-game non-conference stretch, traveling to face Power 5 programs such as Alabama and Ole Miss before kicking off conference play on Sept. 15. The Trojans will play their home opener tomorrow afternoon, playing host to Kennesaw State. The Owls and the Trojans have met twice before, with the last time being during the 2013 season. The series is split at one game each, and kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Troy Soccer Complex.