Conway, Ark. –
In the first ever night game played at the Bill Stephens Track and Field Complex, the Central Arkansas women's soccer team lost to Arkansas State by a score of 3-2 in front of a record setting crowd of 622.
Central Arkansas (2-1-0) grabbed an early 1-0 lead when Adriana Lucar corralled a deflection and slotted it past the keeper for her second goal of the season in the tenth minute. Just two minutes later, Central Arkansas conceded an own goal, tying the game at 1-1. In the 16th minute Lucar struck again, dribbling down the right side of the field into the box and shooting past the keeper from five yards out to push the Central Arkansas lead to 2-1. The Red Wolves (1-1-1) tied the game at 2-2 in the twentieth minute when Christine Giles lofted a shot over the head of the Central Arkansas keeper from 35 yards out.
Arkansas State took the lead in the 46th minute, as Christina Fink slipped a shot just inside the right post from 12 yards out to take the 3-2 lead.
Lucar led the way for the Central Arkansas offense, taking seven shots, placing three on goal, and scoring twice. Kate Koch, Brooke Ballard, Alexa Herbers, and Vanessa Randall each had a shot on goal. Jena Kelley led the Red Wolves with three shots, placing one on goal, while Fink had two shots on goal.
Hayley Romero started in net for the Bears, allowing two goals and making one save. Lyndzey Goff played the second half for Central Arkansas, allowing one goal and making one save. Amanda Lee played all 90 minutes in net for the Red Wolves, making six saves and allowing two goals.
After the match, head coach Jeremy Bishop spoke about the record-setting crowd and his team's performance: "The level of support we saw tonight is awesome, we love having a crowd like that. I feel like it took a bit away from our preparation because we were focused on the ceremony instead of preparing for the game." Bishop added, "I feel like we got complacent today. We were feeling pretty good after opening weekend, and kind of expected to cruise tonight, and after they got back even with us we were unable to get back on top. We created a lot of chances, but were unable to create quality chances."
The Bears return to the field next Friday night, playing the first game of a double-header with the men's soccer team. The women's team plays Missouri State at 5:00 pm, while the men's program faces Oral Roberts at 7:30 pm. Next Sunday, the Bears again play in a double-header with men's team. Both teams face off against UMKC, with the men kicking off at 11:00 am and the women kicking off at 2:00 pm.
