UNT Soccer Moves To 5-0 In SBC With Win Over Troy
DENTON, Texas- North Texas soccer got four goals from three different players as it defeated Troy 4-1 at the Mean Green Soccer Complex. Michelle Young scored twice for the Mean Green.
North Texas (10-3-1, 5-0-0 Sun Belt) extends its home unbeaten streak to 12 games by defeating Troy (7-6-1, 2-3-0 Sun Belt). North Texas is 17-1-2 in its last 20 home games and 16-1 in its last 17 home Sun Belt games.
“I like the way we repsonded when we gave up the late goal,” said North Texas Head Coach John Hedlund. “We could have panicked, but that is not the character of this team. Instead, we regrouped and put two more goals in the net.”
Michelle Young scored two goals for the Mean Green, and now has a total of 11 for the season, making her the first Mean Green player to score 11 or more goals since 2008.Young scored in the second minute, giving North Texas the lead it would hold through the rest of the game. Ellen Scarfone and Kelsey Perlman assisted on the play. Young would score again in the 88th minute to seal the deal for Mean Green, heading in a corner with assists from Scarfone and Kelsey Hodges. This is the third multi-goal game of Young’s season, who ranked second in the Sun Belt Conference in goals scored entering tonight. Young has 28 career goals, which is tied for eighth all-time at North Texas.
Kelsey Perlman scored her second goal of the season in the 21st minute, finishing a counter-attack started by Nikki Crocco and finished by Kara Brooks, who both got assists on the play. Perlman’s goal was the 20th of her career. Perlman added two assists on the night, marking the second straight game she has assisted on two goals. Perlman has six assists for the season and four in league games.
Samantha Morgan of Troy narrowed the gap in the 76th minute, when her shot bounced off the crossbar and into the goal, even after North Texas keeper Jackie Kerestine got her hand on it. The goal ended a remarkable scoreless streak of 378:59 for Kerestine and the Mean Green.
North Texas responded to that goal quickly, scoring in the 80th minute from Ellen Scarfone. Scarfone collected a rebound from a Kelsey Perlman shot and flicked it into the empty net for her fourth goal of the year. Scarfone, who had two assists on the evening, has scored or assisted in all five Sun Belt games this year, and has three goals and five assist in league games. She has four goals and seven assists on the season.
Kara Brooks added the second assist of the season and her career to her total tonight. Kelsey Hodges, in addition to anchoring the North Texas defense, added her fourth assist of the season.
North Texas takes on South Alabama on Sunday, October 9 at 1 p.m. in the Mean Green Soccer Complex.
