Conway – The Central Arkansas women's soccer team will honor the careers of senior Megan Thomas and junior Kate Koch prior to Friday night's match against Houston Baptist. Thomas, the Bears' lone senior, and Koch, who will be graduating early, will be suiting up for their final home stand this weekend.

Thomas, from Arlington, Texas, is the only true senior on the Central Arkansas roster this season. Despite missing time this season while rehabbing from an injury, Thomas has appeared in 39 games during her career for a total of 1,237 minutes played. She has assisted on two goals while taking five shots. Thomas will receive a degree in math.

"Megan has been here for four years and has assumed many different roles for us over that time," said Central Arkansas head coach Jeremy Bishop. "She's brought a lot of technical ability and a high level of understanding of the game to our team. We really appreciate the time she has dedicated to our program."

Koch, from Mansfield, Texas, is just a junior, but will be graduating early with a degree in finance. In three seasons, she has made 44 starts and seen action in 50 games, playing a total of 3,155 minutes. She has scored five goals and assisted on three more, while placing 21 of her 48 attempts on target. Koch has one game-winning goal in her career and has converted one penalty kick.

"Kate has been a consistent player for us in central midfield over the past three seasons," said Bishop. "She's been a player we can count on to help us in possession and, especially this year, be a ball-winner. I am proud of the growth she has experience over her time here at UCA."

On the field, the Bears (6-7-1, 3-2-1 SLC) will take on defending Southland Conference Tournament Champions Houston Baptist at 7:00 PM at the Bill Stephens Complex.
Central Arkansas, who currently sits sixth in the league with 10 points through six matches, rank second in the Southland with an average of 2.00 goals per game, while limiting their opponents to 1.00 goal per game, good for fourth-best in the league. The Bear attack is led by freshman Camille Bassett , who is tied for second in the SLC with five goals through six matches, while fellow freshman Ashley Smith and sophomore Alex Moore are tied for fourth in the league with a pair of assists each. Defensively, both Lauren Mercuri (0.72 goals against average, 5.25 saves per game) and Anna Hughes (1.30 GAA, 9.50 saves per game) rank in the top-ten in multiple categories in goal for the Bears.

Houston Baptist (6-4-1, 4-2-0 SLC) are the fourth-ranked squad in the Southland, holding 12 points through six matches. The Huskies score 1.67 goals per SLC match, good for fourth-best in the conference, while conceding 1.33 goals per game, which ranks sixth in the league. The HBU offense is led by freshman Sabriah Spencer, who is tied with Bassett with five goals. Autumn Wildung has a pair of assists for the Huskies. In goal, HBU utilizes a pair of keepers, in freshman Alanis Guevara (1.00 GAA, 2.67 saves per game) and sophomore Katie Turner (1.64 GAA, 4.33 saves per game), who have each started three SLC matches.

"We are really excited about tomorrow night," said Bishop of the Bears' matchup with the Huskies. "We are ready to get back out in front of our home crowd for our last home stand of the season. Houston Baptist is a really good team, winning the conference tournament last year and having a lot of success again this year. I know that we're prepared, hopefully we will be ready for the challenge and execute at a high level."

After Friday night's match, Central Arkansas will take the pitch at the Stephens for the final time this season on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 PM, hosting the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders.