TROY, Ala. ? Behind a pair of goals by senior Allison Matson, the ULM women's soccer team snapped a two-match skid by defeating Troy on the Trojans senior day by a score of 2-1 at the Trojan Soccer Complex in Troy, Ala. Friday afternoon.
Matson moved into the team lead after connecting on her third and fourth goals of the season. The Pinckney, Mich. native has scored eight career goals, the 11th highest career total in ULM history.
“Even though the score was close, I felt we really dominated play today,” ULM soccer head coach Stacy Lamb said. “We controlled the flow of the game and came out determined to get the victory. I was proud of the way our team played. Allison Matson set the tone for us today and led us to the win.”
After slugging through a scoreless first half, Matson and the Warhawks came out firing in the second. ULM (7-10-1, 3-5-1 Sun Belt) tallied two goals in the first five minutes after intermission to put Troy (5-12, 2-7 Sun Belt) away.
Matson's first goal of the afternoon came on the Warhawks first shot of the second half after only 43 seconds had expired off the clock. Freshman Amy Porch registered her first collegiate point after assisting on the score.
Four minutes later Matson put the match out of reach, scoring the game winner off an assist from freshman Tiffany Bombard.
Sophomore Sara Islas found the back of the net for the Warhawks only to see her score wiped off following one of ULM's five off sides calls.
The Trojans added a late score to avoid the shut out when Caiti Norton scored an unassisted second-chance goal.
ULM finished the game with an 18-13 advantage in shots over the Trojans including an 11-5 advantage in shots on frame. Islas, Matson and juniors Rachel Hobson and Kendall Dawkins each finished the game with at least two shots on goal.
“We are at the point where we need to take everything one game at a time,” Lamb said. “It feels good to get the win, but we are now completely focused on a tough match against South Alabama on Sunday.”
ULM returns to action on Sunday at 1 p.m. when they travel to Mobile, Ala. to face the Jaguars of South Alabama in “The Cage” for the final road contest of the season. The Warhawks will be looking to avenge a 1-0 Senior Day loss last season against USA.
WARHAWK NOTES
- Seven of ULM's nine Sun Belt Conference matches have been decided by one goal or less. In those contests, ULM is 2-4-1. Of the Warhawks one-goal match-ups are a trio of losses to three of the top four teams in the league in Western Kentucky (2-1), Denver (1-0), and Middle Tennessee (1-0). In games decided by more than one goal, ULM has a 1-1 record.
- ULM's 2-1 win against Troy extended the Warhawks undefeated road streak to three matches. ULM has won two straight on the road after defeating Florida Atlantic and tying Florida International two weekends ago.
- Sophomore Mallory George moved into sole possession of second place on ULM's career starts by a goalkeeper with her 37th on Friday. George passed Jessica Robinson who played for ULM from 2000-01 and in 2003.
- Junior Rachel Hobson continues to move up in the ULM record books after her 58th consecutive start. The Longmont, Colo. native has started every game of her Warhawk career and has the second longest all-time starts streak. Hobson trails only Tasha Moore's 62 straight starts set from 2000-03.
- Senior Allison Matson became the 14th Warhawk to register a two-goal game. The last ULM player to accomplish the feat was current teammate Sara Islas against Southern on Sept. 5, 2006.
- Freshman Tiffany Bombard tallied her ninth point of the season after picking up her third career assist. Bombard's point total ranks ninth all-time by a ULM freshman, tying Rachel Casillas's 1999 total. Bombard's three assists are the second most by a ULM freshman, trailing only the four by Amanda Wing-Strope in the 2004 season.
