JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville University women's soccer team hosted Troy University on Sunday afternoon at Southern Oak Stadium in one of the remaining few non-conference games of the season. The Dolphins (0-5-1) fought a hard battle against Troy but fell to the Trojans in overtime.
This was the second consecutive game for the Dolphins that was decided in overtime.
"I am proud of us, after going into overtime on Friday to come back with the numbers that we have and battled today into another overtime match," commented Head Coach
Laura Busby. "It was difficult but ultimately I was proud of their response. It definitely took some mental toughness to play the way they did today."
Freshman forward
Olivia Abdallah, who is recognized as tonight's
Hodges Mazda Player Of The Game recorded the first shot of the night for JU at 17:12. Less than three minutes later, after a foul on Troy which then turned into a corner kick for the Dolphins, junior midfielder
Emma Vasquez saw an opportunity and recorded the second shot of the afternoon with a ball that went wide. In the 23
rd minute Abdallah made another appearance in front of the goal to take a shot that went high. After a quick round of substitutions for the home team freshman midfielder
Shelby Brim, who showcased her speed and intensity through 94 minutes on the field took a shot at 34:52
Although JU and Troy remained scoreless through the first half the Dolphins out shot the visiting team 4 to 3.
"We gave a good performance in terms of our effort; we just need to get the ball in the back of the net" Busby added.
Coming back into the second half with fresh legs Abdallah outran a Trojan defender in the 56
th minute to record her third shot of the afternoon. Off two more deep passes to the far end of the field Abdallah found herself sprinting towards the goal again. Her two final shots came off at 79:56 and 87:55 where the Dolphins attempted to put the game away with just minutes to spare.
Despite the long- fought battle Jacksonville fell to Troy three minutes into the first overtime. Troy midfielder Carolina Tully is credited with the only goal of the night for the Trojans.
The Dolphins are heading to Charleston, SC this week on Friday to take on The College of Charleston.
