Thursday, September 21
Troy, Ala.
7 p.m.
Southern Miss
4-4-1, 1-0-1
2
at
1
Troy
5-5-0, 0-2-0
1
2
F
Southern Miss.
0
2
2
Troy
1
0
1
Lexy Griffin Aids the Golden Eagles in First Conference Win of the Season
9/21/2023 10:21:00 PM | Women's Soccer
TROY, Ala.-- In the last 14 seconds of play, Lexy Griffin sends a shot to the back of the net to secure a Southern Miss (4-4-1, 1-0-1 SBC) 2-1 victory over Troy (5-5-0, 0-2-0 SBC) Thursday night.Â
Troy took an early lead, with Trojan Jordan Stack finding the back of the net within the opening five minutes of the match. She placed the ball into the bottom center of the goal using her right foot, courtesy of a pass from Carley White.
Southern Miss struggled to get shots in the first, with Natalie Wilson taking a shot from the left side of the box in the 20th minute, only to have it saved by the Trojan Keeper.Â
The Golden Eagles later had two successive shots blocked within a minute of each other, with Rebecca Vega attempting a shot from the far left of the box and Emilie Torres from inside the box. Later, they made an effort to score from a corner kick, but Ishold Ruinardsottir's header sailed over the goal. The Trojans led 1-0 exiting the half and shots 7-5.
 In the 52nd minute of the play, Vega ended the scoring deadlock by equalizing the score 1-1. She used a header to place the ball into the top center of the net following a corner kick from Hinano Nakagawa.
When all thought both teams would tie for the third time in program history, sophomore Lexy Griffin sent a shot to the top left corner of the net about three yards outside the box in the last 14 seconds of the night with the feed from Nakagawa.Â
Southern Miss turned on their jets this second half, outshooting Troy 10-5 and scoring twice. Alex Helbling made seven saves in goal, facing 12 shots on the night, with eight being on frame.Â
This 1-0-1 start is just the second time in Coach El Zare's 11 years that he has not had a loss after two conference matches. Had we not scored the game-winning goal, it would have been three straight 1-1 finals versus Troy, as the past two meetings have finished with that score. In all five meetings, the Black and Gold have held the Trojans to one goal or less in each contest.Â
Next up: The Golden Eagles will welcome Arkansas State to Hattiesburg for an afternoon matchup this Sunday. Kick-off is slated for 1 p.m. at the Southern Miss Soccer Complex; live stats and streaming on ESPN+ will be available.Â
Follow @SouthernMissSoccer on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Troy took an early lead, with Trojan Jordan Stack finding the back of the net within the opening five minutes of the match. She placed the ball into the bottom center of the goal using her right foot, courtesy of a pass from Carley White.
Southern Miss struggled to get shots in the first, with Natalie Wilson taking a shot from the left side of the box in the 20th minute, only to have it saved by the Trojan Keeper.Â
The Golden Eagles later had two successive shots blocked within a minute of each other, with Rebecca Vega attempting a shot from the far left of the box and Emilie Torres from inside the box. Later, they made an effort to score from a corner kick, but Ishold Ruinardsottir's header sailed over the goal. The Trojans led 1-0 exiting the half and shots 7-5.
 In the 52nd minute of the play, Vega ended the scoring deadlock by equalizing the score 1-1. She used a header to place the ball into the top center of the net following a corner kick from Hinano Nakagawa.
When all thought both teams would tie for the third time in program history, sophomore Lexy Griffin sent a shot to the top left corner of the net about three yards outside the box in the last 14 seconds of the night with the feed from Nakagawa.Â
Southern Miss turned on their jets this second half, outshooting Troy 10-5 and scoring twice. Alex Helbling made seven saves in goal, facing 12 shots on the night, with eight being on frame.Â
This 1-0-1 start is just the second time in Coach El Zare's 11 years that he has not had a loss after two conference matches. Had we not scored the game-winning goal, it would have been three straight 1-1 finals versus Troy, as the past two meetings have finished with that score. In all five meetings, the Black and Gold have held the Trojans to one goal or less in each contest.Â
Next up: The Golden Eagles will welcome Arkansas State to Hattiesburg for an afternoon matchup this Sunday. Kick-off is slated for 1 p.m. at the Southern Miss Soccer Complex; live stats and streaming on ESPN+ will be available.Â
Follow @SouthernMissSoccer on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Team Stats
USM
TRO
Goals
2
1
Shots
15
12
Shots on Goal
6
8
Saves
7
4
Corners
7
7
Fouls
7
8
Scoring Plays
Jordan Stack (1)
Assisted By: Carley White
GOAL by TRO Stack, Jordan Assist by White, Carley.
05:37
Rebeka Vega (2)
Assisted By: Hinano Nakagawa
GOAL by USM Vega, Rebeka Assist by Nakagawa, Hinano.
52:11
Lexy Griffin (1)
Assisted By: Hinano Nakagawa
GOAL by USM Griffin, Lexy Assist by Nakagawa, Hinano.
89:46
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
4
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
2
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's SoccerM
/ Women's Soccer
M/F
/ Women's Soccer
D
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