HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A battle of attrition, highlighted by a first half red card, turned on a single play late in the second half as Alabama A&M (1-1, 0-0 SWAC) pulled the upset over Troy (0-2, 0-0 SBC), notching a 1-0 victory in an NCAA Division I women's soccer game on Monday, August 22.

While the first half would see no scoring that did not mean there would be no action. Both teams played like bitter rivals, racking up foul after foul, instead of clubs that have now met just three times in 13 years.

That intense style of play would boil over in the 43rd minute as the Trojans suffered a hit that would haunt them the rest of the game (and their next outing) as they picked up a red card at 42:32.

Forced to play with just 10 players the rest of the game, and be without that individual in their next, it didn't have an impact late in the first half as the clubs hit the break deadlocked at 0-0. It would in the second half.

The chippiness would continue after the break as the teams combined for nine fouls after 13 in the first 45 minutes. They would also keep up the offensive pressure with 13 shots, eight for Troy, over the first 33 minutes.

It would be a series by the Bulldogs early in the 79th minute that would rule the day, however. Freshman Taylor McNeal (Kennesaw, Ga.) drove into the offensive end, firing off a shot that was blocked but rebounded back out of the top of the box.

There to collect it 28-yards out was freshman defender K'la Barnes-Blackwood (Margate, Fla.), who proceeded to loft a ball that came in over the goalkeeper and banged down behind her off the bottom of the crossbar for a 1-0 lead with 78:21 gone by.

A pair of offsides by the Trojans then set A&M up on offense as they fired off back-to-back shots by McNeal and senior forward Makayla Rushing (Red Oak, Texas) at 82:13 and 83:47, respectively, before a Bulldogs' foul in the final minute gave Troy one last chance.

Set up just outside the box, Ashley Rainho drove a ball straight at the goal mouth but, as she had been all day, senior goalkeeper Laura Jansa (Barcelona, Spain) snagged it, effectively ending any comeback hopes and locking down the 1-0 shutout victory.

Barnes-Blackwood led the way for A&M with the lone goal on her only attempt while McNeal and Rushing each fired off three with one on net apiece. 

Directly behind them was Jansa, a former field player, with two shots and one on goal off of a pair of free kicks. She would also go the distance in net, making seven saves for a shutout victory to improve to 1-1.

Ella Owen led all players with four attempts, putting one on frame for the Trojans, while Rainho put both of her shots on goal. Defensively, Lindsey LaRoche played a tremendous game in net but her 90 minutes, six saves and one goal allowed - good enough to win on most days - would pale in comparison as she instead took the loss to drop to 0-2 on the year.

The Bulldogs remain in Huntsville for their second game of a three-game home stand. Next up is tour of two schools linked by a name but several states apart as Jacksonville State (Alabama) comes in for a 4:30 p.m. game on Friday, August 26, followed by Jacksonville (Florida) bright and early at 11 a.m. on Sunday, August 28.

NOTES
This was just the third meeting between the teams in program history and the first victory.