Augusto Rossi
The Troy soccer team played Louisiana Tech to a 1-1 draw on Friday before returning home and falling 4-1 to 16th-ranked Florida State.
With their win over the Lady Techsters, the Trojans (2-4-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) snapped a two-game scoreless drought. It was sophomore midfielder Kierster Edlunf who snapped that streak with a late equalizer on Friday night.
Edlunf took three shots in the match and scored in the 87th minute.
The game was neck-and-neck until the Lady Techsters (4-1-2) scored on a headed goal by Jenna Dages after a cross from Monica Gebler in the 38th minute. The Trojans attempted only one shot in the first 45 minutes.
Troy came back for the second half playing better, shooting eight times. Later, the Trojans earned a free kick on the left side of the field 20 yards from goal. That was all the space Edlund needed to drill her first goal of the season and second of her career.
This was the second tie for both teams on this season. Troy used three goalkeepers in this one; Haleigh Mercer, Katrine Jacobsen and Mikki Lewis all saw playing time, with each playing about 30 minutes. Lewis finished the match playing both overtime periods. This is the third time this season that the Trojans uses three goalkeepers on a game.
Since 2015, the Troy soccer team has not scored off a free kick. The last one was made by Kirsten Rendall from 42 yards away when her shot went in untouched against South Alabama.
Kate Lorenz, Lauren Aldrich, Maddie Brune and Claire Taylor also got in on the action with each contributing to the nine total shots that the Trojans rifled off against Louisiana Tech.
Troy was supposed to play against Florida State in Tallahassee this week on Tuesday, but due to weather conditions connected to Hurricane Irma, the game was rescheduled and relocated to Troy on Wednesday at 2 p.m.
It was the first time that Troy hosted a ranked opponent since the program started in 1997, and it didn’t end well for the Trojans.
The Seminoles, despite playing at a slow pace, were able to build a 3-1 lead over Troy by halftime. FSU was paced by the play of forward Deyn Castellanos, who scored a brace of goals.
Florida State posted 17 shots in the match to just two by the Trojans. Again, the Trojans played three different goalies, with varying success. Jacobsen statistically played best, saving two shots on frame and allowing none through.
When it was all said and done, Florida State left Troy with a 4-1 victory, while the Trojans were left with a four-game winless streak.
Now, the Trojans will look forward to opening conference competition with a matchup with UL-Monroe at home. Kickoff is set for Friday at 7 p.m.
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