FOLEY, Ala. – A penalty kick goal by senior Theoni Zerva was all the ULM soccer team needed to pick up a 1-0 win over Troy in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex Monday night.
 
The victory marks ULM's first-ever win at the SBC Championship and first conference tournament win since a 2-1 win over Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 5, 2004, in the Southland Conference tournament. It is the fourth victory in a conference tournament match in program history.
 
Troy threatened first, when Nia Wilson's shot was stopped by ULM junior goalkeeper Hailey Hillock in the fifth minute. Neither team would pick up another shot on goal until Zerva's shot was stopped by Troy goalkeeper Lindsey LaRoche in the 30th minute.
 
A foul on Troy inside the 18-yard box forced a ULM penalty kick at the 37:35 mark of the half. Zerva stepped up to take the penalty and knocked it in for her 11th goal of the season, putting ULM up 1-0.
 
Troy's Erin Bloomfield put a shot on goal in the final minute of the half, but Hillock made the save to preserve the lead at halftime.
 
The Trojans had the next chance in the 64th minute when Jordan Stack's shot was denied by Hillock. Melissa Kuya-Strobel tried again in the 68th minute and was stopped. Lisa Blankestein, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime against ULM just four days prior, had a shot saved by Hillock in the 71st minute.
 
Zerva looked to double ULM's lead in the 77th minute, but LaRoche made the save. Troy had three more chances, but shots by Stack, Allison Worley and Taytum Terrell in the final 10 minutes were all stopped by Hillock as ULM held on for the 1-0 win.
 
Troy fired 15 shots, with eight on goal, to 11 shots for ULM with five on frame. Zerva led ULM with four shots, while Kuya-Strobel and Blankestein had three shots each for Troy. Hillock made eight saves for the Warhawks, while LaRoche had four saves for Troy.
 
For the first time in program history, ULM advances to the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Championship, where it faces top-seed and regular season champion Arkansas State at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Links to live video and stats are available on the soccer schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.