CONWAY — Central Arkansas snapped a three-game winless streak and won its Southland Conference opener for the first time since 2007, scoring a 2-1 win on Friday against Nicholls.
The Bears (5-4-1, 1-0-0) had extra incentive coming into the 2011 conference opener, going up against a Colonels team that tied UCA in last year's regular-season finale – costing the Bears their first Southland Conference tournament berth.
"There was a little bit of a revenge factor for us," said UCA head coach Tina Banham. "They kept us out of the tournament last year, and that really helped stress to us how important every game is in conference. We didn't want it to be a case where we get to the end of the year and, because we didn't beat them, they kept us out again. We wanted to make sure we came out and got this win today and start off on the right foot. We told them before the game that we're 0-0-0, but we want to be 1-0-0 at the end of the day; and we were able to accomplish that."
After getting off to a slow start in the first half, the Bears broke through in the second period – taking a 1-0 lead in the 63rd minute when freshman Vanessa Randall put in her first collegiate goal after controlling the rebound off a Cassie Lange shot.
"I didn't think we played well at all in the first half," Banham said. "It was not good. But what was encouraging was that we made adjustments at halftime and came out and scored two goals in the second half. We'd been in a bit of a drought, and it's never easy to score in conference play no matter who you're playing, so to get back on the board after a bad first half was good for us."
The Bears continued to shut down the Colonels (6-4-1, 0-1-1), limiting them to just three shots through the first 41 minutes of the second half. With a one-goal advantage, UCA tacked on an additional score in the 85th minute when junior Carrissa Rossi played a ball to sophomore Kristin Pollard, who had broken free with junior Elizabeth Brady for a 2-on-1 with Nicholls keeper Molly Mersereau. Pollard pounded it past Mersereau for the 2-0 lead and her first goal of the season.
"Kristin had been down a little and frustrated with her performance," Banham said. "She came in this week and put in a lot of extra work on her own, and to see that pay off for her was really good. And Vanessa Randall got her first goal as well. That's two goals from a sophomore and a freshman. Having 19 freshmen and sophomores, we're not as experienced as other teams but that's no excuse and we've got to mature quickly. It's important to us that our young players step up now that we're in conference play."
Pollard's goal proved to be the game-winner as the Colonels were able to score one late, with Missy McGuire sneaking one into the very top of the net in the 87th minute.
The Bears now move on to face Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Lady Lions, last year's Southland champions, defeated UCA 2-1 in Hammond, La. last year and own a 4-1 overall record against the Bears.
"We're going to have to play better against Southeastern Louisiana," Banham said. "They're a very good team and have very dangerous players. We're definitely not going to be able to play poorly in the first half and try to come back in the second. We're going to have to play well for a full 90 minutes and close out the game if we have the chance. We can't allow goals in the final five minutes. They scored two on us in the final five minutes last year, and then we allow one late today. We have to mature as a team and understand how to not do that. That's very crucial to our success."
