Photo by: Krishnan Collins | Sports Editor: Abby Glockzin plays the ball in A-State’s 1-1 draw with Troy on Friday afternoon. 

The Arkansas State soccer team played in its third consecutive overtime game as the Red Wolves drew Troy 1-1 at the A-State Soccer Park. With the draw, A-State’s record jumped to 3-1-2 (W-L-D) in the Sun Belt Conference and 7-4-2 overall.

Sarah Sodoma got the Red Wolves on the board in the fourth minute before Troy equalized in the 14th minute. Despite a hard fought game from both teams and A-State having a number of good chances, neither team could find a victory.

Olivia Smith played an excellent game at both left back and right back. The versatile junior defender played physically and smartly while finding her teammates with many passes out of the defense. Smith was so physical it prompted a second half move from left back to right back.

“I was getting a little too physical with the girl on my side,” Smith said. “We were going at it a little bit too much. I already had a yellow so coach wanted to make sure I had cooled off a little bit.”

Smith’s physical display was matched by other players all over the pitch and on both teams. After Sodoma scored her goal in the first half, she got injured just a few minutes later. Sodoma returned in the second half and for the overtime period.

“I don’t really know what happened,” Sodoma said. “But I think she stepped on my foot. They were pretty physical in the backline so they made it pretty tough.”

South Alabama, Troy and A-State are all battling for the top spot in the SBC standings. With the draw against the Trojans, the Red Wolves currently sit at 11 points, while Troy now has 14. South Alabama is yet to play tonight and they sit at 13 points before their match against Georgia Southern. A-State will have a game in hand on both South Alabama and Troy after the end of Friday.

“I mean it’s still good, it’s still a point,” Smith said about the draw with Troy. “I think it’s just we need to win the next four games that we have and I really think we can still get first place.”

Game Summary

Overtime

Sodoma almost converted a chance to give the Red Wolves a victory with just five minutes remaining in the second overtime period. The ball fell to the St. Louis native in the box as she fired a low, hard shot just wide of Troy’s far post.

Neither team found many concrete opportunities in either overtime period. Julianna Coates took a free kick for the Red Wolves early in the first period that looked dangerous, but Troy headed the ball out comfortably for a throw.

Second Half

With just 30 seconds left in regulation, Sodoma almost stole a late victory for A-State. After a botched goal kick by Troy, Sodoma found herself running clear towards the Trojan’s goal. The forward rounded the keeper but her touch took her just a little too wide before she could fire a shot on target.

With just one minute left in the match, Coates and Sodoma looked to connect on a training ground set piece. Coates played the ball down the left to Sodoma, but her cross flew out of bounds before finding any A-State attacker in the box.

First Half

Despite the Red Wolves getting off to a flying start, Troy battled back in a closely contested, physical first half. Sodoma got the Red Wolves on the board four minutes in, but when the junior went down with an injury just moments later, the game turned on its head.

With just three minutes left in the half, Riley Minard took a long shot on goal from a free kick but Troy’s keeper collected comfortably.

Megan McClure played a commanding first half. The junior keeper made a great 1-on-1 save towards the end of the half with her legs and stood tall when the Trojans earned an indirect free kick just a few yards from A-State’s goal mouth on a possible inadvertent back pass that McClure handled from her own team.

Olivia Smith picked up a yellow after committing a hard tackle on Kiersten Edlund. Both Edlund and Smith battled back and forth the entire first half.

The Red Wolves had a great chance to take a 2-1 lead in the 36th minute after a goal mouth scramble put Troy’s keeper out of position. Despite directing some shots towards goal, Troy’s defense came up heroic with a clearance.

A-State seemed to lose a lot of momentum when Sodoma left the match. Just around four minutes after she left the field, Troy equalized in the 14th minute. Troy’s Caroline Tully dribbled down the left side of the pitch before crossing it to Melissa Kuya-Strobel for an easy tap-in.

Before Sodoma’s injury, the junior looked in top-form. Troy could simply not keep up with her pace. In the fifth minute she powered past the Trojan’s backline and cut the ball back across the box but no one connected on her cross.

In the fourth minute of the match, the Red Wolves found the breakthrough after putting the Trojans under constant pressure early. Abby Harris slipped Sodoma past the Trojans’ backline and Sodoma calmly finished the ball past Haleigh Mercer in goal.

Looking Ahead

The Red Wolves return to action Oct. 18 at Georgia Southern.

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