Tag: Arkansas State University

Smith, Nelvis to compete at Europe vs. USA dual meet

September 2, 2019

By ASU SPORTS INFORMATION

INDIANAPOLIS – After strong showings at the USATF Outdoor Championships in July, a pair of former Arkansas State All-Americans have earned another distinguished honor.

Caitland Smith and Sharika Nelvis will represent Team USATF at the historic The Match Europe vs. USA, held Sept. 9-10 at the Dinamo National Olympic Stadium in Minsk, Belarus.

Marking a return to the famous intercontinental duals of the 1960s and 1970s, the best of Europe’s athletes will face Team USATF in the last major athletics competition before this year’s IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Smith and Nelvis are part of a delegation of 139 elite athletes that includes 28 Olympians, eight Olympic medalists and 11 world championship medalists. Other notable selections include nine-time Olympic medalist and 16-time World Championship medalist Allyson Felix, Olympic gold and silver medalist and four-time World Champion Brittney Reese as well as Rio gold medalist Michelle Carter.

The two-day meet with 37 events will be broadcast live, Sept. 9-10 on NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. CT.

Smith most recently finished eighth in the women’s 100m at the USATF Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, while Nelvis placed fourth in the 100m hurdles.

A full list of selections can be found here.

Bears fall to in-state foe

September 1, 2019

By UCA SPORTS INFORMATION

CONWAY –  It was a rough afternoon in Jonesboro for the Central Arkansas women’s soccer team as a rocky start to the match left themselves with a small chance of recovery. The Bears traveled to Jonesboro to take on Arkansas State, a team that came into the match coming off a huge victory against Big 12 Conference affiliate Kansas State. 

Central Arkansas (0-3), found themselves down two goals less than five minutes into the match, conceding a goal in the second minute and another in the third. However, the Bears responded to adversity and got a goal back in the 23rd minute before ultimately conceding a third goal late as more numbers were thrown forward in an attempt to equalize.

First Half

  • Arkansas State’s Abigail Glockzin gave the Red Wolves an early 1-0 advantage inside of two minutes into the match.
  • Arkansas State doubled their lead in the third minute on a goal from Sarah Sodoma.
  • The Red Wolves nearly grabbed a third in the 20th minute, however UCA keeper Reagan McCombs was up to the task and recorded her first save of the afternoon.
  • Central Arkansas cut the deficit in half in the 23rd minute courtesy of a Gracie Hair goal, her first of the season.
  • The Bears would nearly equalize five minutes later on a Emma Hawkins strike that flew just wide right of the net. 

Second Half

  • The Bears continued to threaten in the second half in search for the equalizing goal and nearly grabbed it in the 53rd minute on a Jordan Slim strike that forced a corner kick. 
  • Hawkins again nearly tied it up for Central Arkansas in the 67th minute as she saw her strike fly just high of the net. 
  • A corner kick opportunity in the 80th minute nearly saw the Red Wolves grab their two goal advantage again as ASU’s Haley Husted was denied by goalkeeper Elizabeth Lewis just in front of goal. 
  • ASU would score the final goal of the match in the 84th minute as the Bears many numbers forward in a final attempt to grab an equalizer.

Central Arkansas finished the match with eight total shots, and only one on frame. Goalkeepers McCombs and Lewis each saw a half of action recording two saves apiece. 

Coach Bishop Quotes

“Today was similar to Friday in that we gave away a couple of scoring chances early in the match and our opponent took full advantage, but we settled in after that and controlled most of the play. Today, we didn’t create enough scoring chances to get ourselves fully back into the game. We have to be sharper in the final third so we can get more looks at goal. It’s a process. We have to keep working and I know this group will.”

Up Next

The Bears are back in action this Friday, September, 6 as they travel to Stillwater to take on Oklahoma State. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Red Wolves sweep Belmont

August 31, 2019

By ASU SPORTS INFORMATION

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Peyton Uhlenhake’s dynamic opening weekend continued on Saturday afternoon, as her career-best day vaulted the Arkansas State volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep at Belmont to conclude the Bruiser Showcase.

The junior from Overland Park, Kansas, notched a career-high 18 kills on the day, which led all players in the match. She hit .353, while adding 3 service aces and 9 digs to her credit. Additionally, Uhlenhake and Macey Putt earned All-Tournament team honors.

Set 1 – A-State 25-19
The opening set was back-and-forth, as neither team led by more than three points to open up the match. The lead changed six times, until A-State moved ahead 19-18 on a Macey Putt kill. From there, the Red Wolves only surrendered one point to take an early 1-0 lead in the match.

Uhlenhake led the way with 6 kills, while Putt added four in the set. Malgorzata Andersohn dished out 7 assists to lead the Red Wolves’ attack.

Set 2 – A-State 25-22
In the second, A-State opened with a 3-1 lead, but the Bruins surged back to lead by as much as 6 points. The Red Wolves clawed back, winning 10 of the next 14 points to tie up the frame at 19 apiece after Kendahl Davenport and Timber Terrell teamed up on a double-block. After Belmont claimed the next two points, the Scarlet and Black took full control, taking six of the next seven points to take a tight set 2.

Timber Terrell capped off the set with a kill – her fourth in the set. Uhlenhake led the Red Wolves with 5 kills, while Madison Brown added 3. Julianna Cramer also tallied 8 assists.

Set 3 – A-State 25-17
Looking to put the match away quickly, the Red Wolves surged out of the break, taking an early 6-1 advantage that the Bruins would not be able to overcome. A 4-0 run with kills by Josie Stanford, Peyton Uhlenhake and Madison Brown warranted a Bruins timeout as A-State led 11-4. Sides traded points back and forth until the Red Wolves led 21-16, which was when they claimed five of the final six points, capped off by a Timber Terrell kill.

Uhlenhake led A-State’s attack with 7 kills.

Quick Hitters

  – Arkansas State broke a two-match skid against Belmont and improved to 7-2 in the series.

  – A-State’s sweep against North Alabama and Belmont marked its first back-to-back sweeps since it occurred Oct. 27 (at Georgia Southern) and Oct. 30 (at Little Rock).

  – Dating back to 2018, Arkansas State is 10-3 when holding opponents to an attack percentage of under .200.

  – When claiming the first two sets, the Red Wolves are a perfect 29-0 dating back to 2017.

  – Both of A-State’s setters notched 20 or more assists, with Julianna Cramer recording 21 and Malgorzata Andersohn adding 20.

  – Hannah Cox’s 25 digs were the most by a Red Wolf since Tatum Ticknor’s 33 against South Alabama on Nov. 15, 2018.

Next Up

The Red Wolves will hit the road once again next weekend, heading south to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, for the Southern Miss Volleyball Classic. There, A-State will face the host Golden Eagles (Friday, 6 p.m.), Mississippi State (Saturday, 10 a.m.) and New Orleans (Saturday, 5 p.m.) before returning home for the annual A-State Invitational (Sept. 12-14) at First National Bank Arena.

Red Wolves drop Decision to SMU

August 31, 2019

By ASU SPORTS INFORMATION

JONESBORO – A record-tying performance by Omar Bayless was not quite enough to move Arkansas State past SMU on Saturday night at Centennial Bank Stadium, as the Red Wolves (0-1) dropped a tough 37-30 decision to the Mustangs (1-0) in the season opener for both teams.

Bayless grabbed four touchdown passes from Logan Bonner, matching the school record set in 1959 by Alfred Bentley vs. Central Missouri. The clock ultimately ran out on A-State’s final drive, which was stopped at the SMU 29-yard mark.

“I really hurt for our team,” interim head coach David Duggan said. “We’ve been through a lot of adversity and I wish I could’ve done a better job getting a win for them. We talked about that adversity – that it can either define you, destroy you or strengthen you. I believe that this group was strengthened by the adversity that it overcame this past week and a half. I’m proud of their effort, I’m proud of their fight, but we just made too many first-game mistakes. You can’t do that against a good football team and think you’re going to win.”

In his first career start, Bonner completed 32 of 50 passes for 324 yards, with 265 of those yards coming in the second half. Brandon Bowling caught a career-high 12 passes to lead the Red Wolves, while Bayless hauled in 10 passes for a team-high 132 yards – both career highs.

Defensively, Jerry Jacobs led all players with a career-high 13 total tackles with William Bradley-King tallying the lone Red Wolf sack on the night.

On the opening drive, the Mustangs ventured into A-State territory, only for Darreon Jackson to pick off a Shane Buechele pass and return it 49 yards to the SMU 7-yard line. That play marked Jackson’s first career interception. The very next play, Logan Bonner fired a bullet to Omar Bayless to give A-State an early 7-0 lead.

With 8:45 left in the first, Kevin Robledo put SMU on the board with a 34-yard field goal. Through the first 15 minutes, A-State led 7-3.

Early in the second quarter, Bradley-King mauled through the Mustang offensive line, sacking Buechele and forcing a fumble, which was recovered in the end zone by left guard Alan Ali for a safety, putting the Red Wolves ahead 9-3.

SMU found the end zone for the first time when Xavier Jones scampered around the right side from nine yards out. Robledo added the extra point to give the Mustangs a 10-9 lead with 7:08 remaining in the first half.

After a pair of big Murray runs, the Mustangs regained possession on an interception by Terrance Newman at the Red Wolf 41-yard line. Robledo later added a 29-yard field goal to up the SMU lead to 13-9 with 3:53 left in the half.

A shanked punt gave the Mustangs prime field position at their own 45, which turned into three more points when Robledo knocked through his third kick of the night, this time from 25 yards to give SMU a touchdown lead at 16-9 with under 30 seconds left in the half. That score would hold as both teams went into the locker room at the half.

After talking things over in the locker room, A-State’s offense kicked it into high gear, starting with its opening drive.

Bonner connected with Bayless again on A-State’s first drive of the second half, scoring from eight yards to cap off a 6-play, 69-yard drive and knot things up at 16-all.

The Mustangs looked to return the favor, driving to the A-State 2-yard line. However, the Red Wolves defense held tough with a goal-line stand. Seven plays later, Bonner found Bayless for a third time, connecting on a 29-yard strike to give the Red Wolves a 23-16 lead.  

SMU punched back with a 98-yard kickoff return by CJ Sanders, but the extra point was shanked, helping the Red Wolves cling to the 23-22 advantage. That score began a run of 15 unanswered points by the Mustangs.

After recovering a fumble on an A-State punt return, the Mustangs turned that into eight more points on the following drive, as Jones plunged forward for a one-yard score. Tyler Page completed a pass to Kylen Granson for the two-point conversion that put SMU ahead 30-23 with under a minute left in the third.

Cody Grace pinned the Mustangs back to their own 11, but Buechele led his offense on an 11-play drive that took nearly five minutes off the clock. Jones found the goal line for the third time, scoring from two yards to give SMU a two-score lead at 37-23 with 9:11 remaining. Jones rushed 18 times for 56 yards.

With under 6 minutes remaining, the Red Wolves cut the deficit in half when Bonner found Bayless for the fourth time for a 34-yard strike, matching the program’s single-game record.

SMU halted the Red Wolves’ last chance at tying up the contest, as Delontae Scott sacked Bonner at the SMU 32.

Reggie Roberson, Jr., led the Mustangs with 11 catches for a game-high 180 yards, while Buechele was 30-of-49 passing for 360 yards and one interception. Ke’Mon Freeman led SMU in rushing with 86 yards on 22 attempts.

For the Red Wolves, Cody Grace punted six times for a 41.5-yard average and a long of 55, landing three inside the 20, giving him 37 for his illustrious career.

The Red Wolves next head out west to Las Vegas, where they will face UNLV with hopes of building on last season’s 27-20 victory in Jonesboro. Kickoff is schedule for 9 p.m. (CT) from Sam Boyd Stadium with the game available on WatchStadium via Facebook. A-State returns to Jonesboro after another road contest at No. 3 Georgia (11 a.m. CT, Sept. 14), when it will host Southern Illinois at 2 p.m. at Centennial Bank Stadium.

ASU wins Exhibition Over UAPB

August 13, 2019

By ASU SPORTS INFORMATION

PINE BLUFF – The Arkansas State women’s soccer team opened the competition slate with a 3-0 exhibition win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff Tuesday evening at the Pumphrey Soccer Complex.

Sarah Sodoma scored in the 8th minute, when she was able to weave through multiple defenders to set up an excellent look on target, to put the Red Wolves ahead 1-0. The Manchester, Mo., native struck again, in the 55thminute, when she connected her second unassisted goal of the night from twenty yards out, to give the Scarlet and Black a 2-0 advantage over the Golden Lions.

Haley Husted added to the A-State advantage 3-0, in the 80thminute when she found the back of the net off an assist by Bailey Gellis. The Red Wolves finished the night with 22 shots, seven of which were shots on goal.

Megan McClure and Noel Miller both made a save apiece in the match.

Arkansas State will open the regular season on Thursday, Aug. 22, when it travels to Tennessee-Martin. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. at Skyhawk Field. 

ASU drops Soccer Opener

August 22, 2019

By ASU SPORTS INFORMATION

MARTIN, Tenn. –Despite out shooting UT Martin 20-14, the Arkansas State Soccer team suffered its first setback of the regular season 3-1, at Skyhawk Field in Martin, Tenn.

Following the loss, the Red Wolves fell to 0-1 on the year while UT Martin improved to 1-0. 

Manchester, Mo., native Sarah Sodoma connected her first goal of the regular season, in the 8thminute, when she controlled a pass from senior midfielder Lindsey Brochu, giving the Red Wolves a 1-0 lead over UT Martin. However, the Skyhawks evened the score (1-1) in the 12’ minute with an unassisted goal by Jill Hildreth. 

The Skyhawks built a 3-1 advantage over the Red Wolves in the second half, when Hildreth took an assist from Nicole Collins to connect for her second goal of the night while Hendrikje Baurmann followed with the insurance goal in the in the 81stminute. 

Megan McClure made one save for A-State in goal as the Red Wolves outshot the Skyhawks 20-14 on the night. The Scarlet and Black took 14 shots on goal compared to UT Martins five. Sodoma led A-State offensively with seven shots on goal while Sophia Restrepo and Haley Husted added two each. 

Arkansas State will return to action in its home opener Sunday, Aug. 25 against Missouri State. Kickoff is set for at the A-State Soccer Park.

For the latest on A-State Soccer follow the team by logging onto the Arkansas State Soccer Facebook page or by following the team on Twitter (@AStateSoccer)and Instagram (AStateSoccer).

A-State Soccer Match canceled

August 25, 2019

By ASU SPORTS INFORMATION

JONESBORO – Due to continuous rain and lightning in the area Sunday, Arkansas State’s women’s soccer match against Missouri State has been cancelled.

After a lengthy delay ahead of the match, teams began warmup, but lightning and heavy rain returned forcing the cancellation.

A-State returns to action Thursday, Aug. 29, at Kansas State. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Manhattan, Kan. The Red Wolves home opener is now scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 1, against Central Arkansas at 1:00 p.m. at the A-State Soccer Complex.

 For the latest on A-State Soccer follow the team by logging onto the Arkansas State Soccer Facebook page or by following the team on Twitter (@AStateSoccer) and Instagram (AStateSoccer).

ASU defeats UCA, 3-1

September 1, 2019

By ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

JONESBORO – Three Red Wolves scored for the first time this season, as the Arkansas State soccer team defeated in-state foe Central Arkansas 3-1, Sunday afternoon at the A-State Soccer Park.

Following the win, the Red Wolves improved to 2-1 while Central Arkansas fell to 0-3 on the year. 

Carrollton, Texas, native, Abby Glockzin found the back of the net in the 2ndminute, her first of the season, giving the Red Wolves a 1-0 lead over the Sugar Bears. The goal was setup by Junior Haley Furio, who sent a near perfect corner kick into the box, which found Glockzin just inches away from the net.

The Red Wolves struck again about 2 minutes later, in the 3rd minute, off the foot of Haley Husted which marked her first goal of the season. Sarah Sodoma was credited with assist, allowing the home team to build a 2-0 advantage over Central Arkansas. However, UCA pulled within 2-1 in the 23rdminute off of a Gracie Hair goal, which marked its only goal of the match.

Riley Minard added insurance to the Red Wolves lead in the 84th minute 3-1, after a free kick. The goal marked the first of the 2019 campaign for the Overland Park, Kansas, native. Husted led the Red Wolves offensively with four shots while Sodoma followed with three. 

Megan McClure only allowed on goal as Arkansas State out shot UCA 14-8 on the day. The Scarlet and Black took four shots on goal compared to the Sugar Bear’s 1 while only committed nine fouls compared to the UCA 16.

Arkansas State will return to action Thursday, Sept. 5, when it hosts Jackson State at the A-State Soccer Park. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.

For the latest on A-State Soccer follow the team by logging onto the Arkansas State Soccer Facebook page or by following the team on Twitter (@AStateSoccer)and Instagram (AStateSoccer).