(October 11, 2023) Mena, Arkansas - Coming off a road win at NEO, the ladies looked to finish their season strong with hopes of making it to the Region II Tournament at the end of the month. Earlier this season, the ladies lost 2-0 on the road at Northern Oklahoma.
Enid started the game with high intensity determined to take control from the kick off. UARM quickly adjusted to the physical style of play and managed to get a foot hold in the game. This enabled UARM to wrestle control of the game away from Enid and were rewarded with a goal in 7th minute when Jasmin Nielsen (Aabybro, Denmark) pressured the Enid defender to cause the ball to spill away with which she used to smash the ball into the roof of the net from 20 yards out. Five minutes later, Carla Todd (Lochgilphead, United Kingdom) made it 2-0 with a 30 yard power shot off a free kick. UARM was managing to keep Enid away from the goal with relative ease until just before the half time break. The UARM defenders allowed a high ball to go over their heads for a wide open opportunity which they took to make it 2-1.
UARM started the second half on fire, creating many scoring opportunities but just couldn't put any away. UARM would then pay the price for those missed opportunities when Enid scored on the hour from a mix up in the penalty area. Just as the game was heading for a tie, Jasmin Nielsen took a gamble and ripped a shot from 35 yards which found the top corner of the net for the winning goal.
Coach Sherry was very happy with his girls' efforts on the day. "It was another tough physical game for the ladies and you can see it is starting to show as players having to play through pain because of having a very small team roster. I am proud of how they never complain and always give of their best for the betterment of others. Today a lot of the players had their best games of the season and this was a huge factor in the team getting the win today."
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