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Trojans soccer endures rough patch

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Little Rock (LR) women’s soccer dropped two games last week before tying in-state rival UCA 2-2 on Sunday night. After recent losses at home to Missouri State (MSU) and on the road to Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, Texas, LR stands at 1-4-2 on the season.

LR got goals from Natalee Geren (17th minute) and Mari Young (75th) in Sunday’s home draw against UCA. The Bears, which tied the game late on a Bridget Mansour goal, had an 18-13 advantage in shots and 8-6 edge in saves.

Last Sunday, LR hosted MSU and lost control of the game early, conceding a goal to Anna Durnin in the 11thminute. MSU dominated the pace of play through the first and second half, culminating in an 83rdminute goal by Jordan Eickelman. LR broke their scoring drought with an 86thminute goal by senior forward Doro Greulich. Greulich’s goal, her first of the season, proved too late as the Trojans lost 2-1 in front of the disappointed home crowd.

Last Thursday night, LR faced one of their toughest tests of the young season in a trip to Big 12 competitor TCU. Supported by over 1,000 fans, TCU dominated the Trojans, scoring their first of four goals in the 27thminute. Yazmeen Ryan’s goal was followed by 63rdand 64thminute strikes by Messiah Bright and Grace Collins. Late, in the 90thminute, with LR chasing the game, Lexi Wallace sealed TCU’s victory. LR failed to create any significant scoring threat, outshot 21-4 by TCU and not winning a single corner kick.

 

Youthful Trojans struggle in Fayetteville

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Little Rock (LR) volleyball struggled this weekend, dropping the first three matches of its season at the Arkansas Classic in Fayetteville. The Trojans failed to win a single set in two days of competition versus Montana State, Northwestern State and in-state rival Arkansas.

The tournament kicked off Friday morning with a match versus Montana State. Although the Trojans entered the match with a better 2018 record than the Bobcats, LR failed to capture any early momentum and only took its first lead midway through the final set. Despite some improvement in the team’s play as the match progressed, LR dropped all three sets by scores of 25-11, 25-11 and 25-21.

While the team struggled, sophomore Laura Jansen notched 13 digs, a career high for the Trojan outside hitter. Freshman Janae Thurston, competing in her first collegiate match, led the team with seven kills.

LR didn’t have long to focus on the opening loss. Some eight hours later, the team faced off against Arkansas in the first regular-season meeting and second overall match between the two programs. An opponent of Arkansas’ quality would always prove a challenge for the Trojans. But playing them only hours after another match and in Arkansas’ home arena compounded the challenge.

In spite of difficult circumstances, LR competed from the opening point, pushing Arkansas to the limit in the first two sets.

The Trojans leveled with the Razorbacks five times in the opening set before dropping it 25-20.

The second set proved just as competitive, with LR coming within two points of Arkansas, 23-21, as the set closed. Again, the deficit proved too much to overcome, as the Razorbacks took the second set 25-21.

Fatigued against fierce SEC opposition, LR couldn’t keep up with the Razorbacks and dropped the final set 25-12.

Jansen and senior Diana Giordani led the Trojans with two service aces apiece, while Giordani tallied nine digs.

LR saved its best performance for last, competing with Northwestern State through all three sets on Saturday afternoon. Despite failing to win a set, the match was the Trojans’ most competitive of the tournament, with 11 ties and five lead changes and final set scores of 25-20, 25-17, and 25-17.

Senior middle hitter Carol Barbosa starred for the Trojans with seven kills on her way to a spot on the All-Tournament Team, while sophomore Nathalia Vigineski recorded 10 assists.

Another weekend tournament approaches for LR in the Oral Roberts Classic in Tulsa next weekend. The Trojans will face Illinois State, Air Force and tournament host Oral Roberts on Friday and Saturday.

While the season hasn’t started according to plan for the Trojans, LR can take some positives from their three opening matches. LR competed with quality opposition in Arkansas and put together feisty performances to extend sets throughout the weekend.

Perhaps most importantly, the youthful Trojans gained valuable experience away from the comfort of the Jack Stephens Center.

Trojans finish middle of the pack in Memphis Twilight Classic

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Little Rock (LR) men’s and women’s cross country opened the season with 7th and 9th place finishes, respectively, at the City Auto Memphis Twilight Classic on Saturday night.

Sophomore Carter Reynolds paced the LR men with a personal best time of 21:07.45, good for 18th overall. Fellow sophomore Ricardo Banks also posted a personal best of 21:36.02 (36th overall), while freshman Colby Swecker had a solid debut only seven positions behind Reynolds with a time of 21:24.22.

Junior Vianney Sanchez placed 53rd overall with a time of 19:48.14 to lead the Trojan women. Freshmen Ariana Garcia and Jordan Edwards impressed in their debut race for the Trojans, claiming the 59th and 60th overall spots. With a time of 19:57.55, Garcia finished only a few tenths of a second ahead of Edwards (19:57.79).

The Trojan men posted an average time of 21:37.97 in the 4 mile run, placing 7th out of 12 teams. The LR women finished 9th out 14 schools with a 20:20.57 average in the 5k race.

Unlike most cross country meets, the Memphis Twilight Classic had bizarre start times of 9:20 p.m. for the women and 10:00 p.m. for the men. UAB claimed the women’s title, while Middle Tennessee State claimed each of the top four individual finishes to win the men’s event.

The Trojans will return to action next Saturday, Sept. 7, at the UCA XC Challenge in Conway. The women’s event is slated to begin at 8:45 a.m., and the men’s race at 9:20 a.m.

Trojans fall 3-1 in Tulsa

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Freshman Julia Edholm scored in her second straight game, but Little Rock (LR) soccer fell 3-1 Friday to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in Tulsa, Okla.

The loss, which followed Wednesday’s 1-0 home-opener win over Grambling State, dropped the reigning Sun Belt Champions to 1-2-1 on the season.

Tulsa and LR traded missed scoring opportunities in the first 15 minutes before Golden Hurricane junior forward Addyson Guthrie scored in the 16th minute. Seven minutes later, Tulsa doubled its lead with a strike from senior forward Valiree Morris. Despite performing multiple substitutions and limiting early damage, LR struggled to create attacking opportunities for the remainder of the first half.

Edholm’s 55th-minute goal, assisted by junior Morgan Smocovich, opened the Trojans’ second half on the right foot. But LR’s offense failed to capture any further momentum, as the Golden Hurricane dominated possession and scoring opportunities throughout the second half.

As time slipped away, Tulsa sealed the victory with a 78th-minute goal by freshman forward Aubrey Lechlider.

LR will look to rebound quickly with a home match on Sunday against Missouri State, scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff.

New baseball season offers new opportunities

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2019 offers Little Rock (LR) baseball a chance to turn the page on an average 2018 season in which the team finished 28-28 and lost two of three games at the Sun Belt Tournament, as well as the opportunity to play one of the most historic regular season games in program history.

Fifth-year coach Chris Curry returns 21 players from last season’s team and added a further 12 through recruiting, including freshman infielder Miguel Soto. Soto, a native of Kissimmee, Fla., is expected to start at shortstop for the Trojans and has been a highly touted prospect, having been a 2018 Rawlings Perfect Game Honorable Mention All-American.

Other incoming freshmen include in-state infielder Nathan Lyons of Bentonville and catcher Alex Langford of Millington, Tenn.

Returning players include senior infielder Christian Reyes, a stalwart for the Trojans the last three years. In 2018, Reyes batted .221 and drew 17 walks. Fellow senior and outfielder Chase Coker led the Trojans with a .297 batting average in 2018 and will likely be one of the lead Trojan bats. Senior first baseman Riley Pittman will look to build on the five home runs he hit last year and add power in the middle of the batting order. Finally, senior outfielder Troy Alexander returns. Alexander batted .291 last season and drove in 40 runs, thanks in part to seven home runs.

LR lost two critical pitchers from last season’s team and will head into the season with ace sophomore Chandler Fidel. Fidel, a native of Garland, Texas, went 6-4 for the Trojans last season and notched a 4.02 ERA while pitching 96.2 innings, the most of any Trojan. Coming out of the bullpen will be junior right-hander Donavin Buck who made 31 appearances last season, pitching 52 innings and finishing 6-1 for LR.

While there are several interesting matchups for LR this season, including home-and-home matchups with UCA as part of the Governor’s I-40 Showdown, one game rises above the others.

On April 2, LR will travel to Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks for the first time in both programs’ history. The Razorbacks, runner-ups in last year’s College World Series (CWS), will prove one of the Trojans’ most difficult tests this season and give the team the chance to prove themselves against some of the best competition.

At the time of print, LR has opened play with a three-game series versus Creighton at Gary Hogan Field. Despite a high-powered offense which tallied 29 runs total, the Trojan pitching staff struggled and LR lost all three games by scores of 10-8, 13-8, and 12-10, respectively.

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