Bears fall in Home Opener

August 30, 2019

By UCA SPORTS INFORMATION

CONWAY –  Conceding a goal in the fourth minute and another in the 18th saw the Central Arkansas women’s soccer team trailing Missouri State in their own backyard early in the match. The Bears came into the match allowing less than a goal per match at the Bill Stephens Complex and was riding a 10 game home unbeaten streak. 

Central Arkansas (0-2) showed resilience despite being down 2-0 in the first 20 minutes and would go on to score two unanswered goals of their own, with the equalizer coming in the 67th minute. Missouri State went on to find a late winner in the 80th minute, leaving Central Arkansas very limited time to potentially equalize again. 

First Half

  • Missouri State’s Brooke Zenner found the back of the net just inside four minutes of playing, giving Missouri State an early 1-0 advantage. 
  • Missouri State would double their lead in the 18th minute on a strike Unnur Bergsdottir.
  • Central Arkansas responded quickly, finding the back of the net in the 22nd minute on a beautifully worked goal that ended in a Hadley Dickinson finish from just inside the penalty area. 
  • UCA’s Savannah Tidd created a couple of chances towards the end of the first half, forcing saves from Missouri State’s Kaitlin Maxwell in the 41st and 42nd minutes. 

Second Half

  • Anika Sultan would equalize for Central Arkansas in the 67th minute after a strike directly from a corner kick found its way into the side netting, giving UCA a chance to potentially snatch a late winner. 
  • Sultan’s equalizer would be short lived after Missouri State’s Britney Robinson pounced on a late opportunity and scored what would ultimately be the winning goal for her team in the 80th minute.

Central Arkansas finished the match with 12 total shots, striking six of them on target, while Reagan McCombs finished the match four total saves. 

Coach Bishop Quotes

“Being down 2-0 and fighting back to get even with them was big for us, but to fall behind 2-0 the way that we did was disappointing. Once we got ourselves going, we were the better team, we were just unfortunate to not do more in our attacking opportunities.” 

Up Next

The Bears will travel to Jonesboro Sunday afternoon to face in-state foe Arkansas State. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.