Trojan soccer playing for conference ranking

(PHOTO/Joshua Thurston)

The Troy Soccer team (6-9) is looking to get an important conference win against South Alabama on Sunday, Oct. 20 at home to improve its position in the impending conference tournament.

The Trojans have a spot in the tournament but much is to be determined about who they will play once the matches begin on Wednesday, Nov. 6 in San Marcos, Texas.

“Right now our focus is on South Alabama and getting a result is important,” Troy head coach Chris Bentley said. “Right now we are playing for seeds. They are a good team. They are competing for a championship as well and we have to take the mentality that this is a game that prepares us to get as close as we can and as best a seed as we can in conference.”

The Trojans are coming off a tough road trip that handed them two heartbreaking conference losses to Western Kentucky on Friday, Oct. 11, and Georgia State on Sunday, Oct. 13.

Western Kentucky, the top team in the Sun Belt with a 5-0 conference record, broke up a 0-0 struggle with a late goal to escape defeat at the hands of Troy.

“We lost in the last three minutes of the game but that is not to say that we didn’t get our own chance, “ Bentley said. “We just hit the post right towards the end of the game that would have tied the game. We were just a little bit unlucky.”

The match Sunday in Atlanta against Georgia State offered more misfortune for the Trojans who fell 2-1 to the Panthers.

Georgia State took a one goal lead in the 37th minute, but, with time running out in the second half, Troy senior Jane Latif tied the match with an unassisted goal in the 88th minute forcing overtime.

Unfortunately for the Trojans, the Panthers were able to find the net again in the 100th minute to win the match 2-1.

What stung the most about the loss for Bentley and his team was a bad call by the official that cost Troy an important goal in the second half.

“We had a goal called back in the second half due to offsides that was, after watching the video, was hard to watch,” Bentley said. “We really had our chances to win the game and missed out then with that one.”

However, the past is the past and the Trojans have their eyes on beating South Alabama this Sunday at home.

“I think they have got good athleticism on the wings, which gives a little more speed,” Bentley said. “I think they have the ability to play a quite nice, attractive style of soccer but they are also not afraid to mix it up and be aggressive so I think they are a good mix of everything.”

Troy plays the Jaguars Sunday, Oct 20 at 1 p.m. at home.