Conway – The Central Arkansas women's soccer team returned to action on Sunday afternoon, welcoming the Abilene Christian Wildcats to the Bill Stephens Complex in a meeting of two of the Southland Conference's top teams. For the first time in conference play, the Bears were unable to get on the board, but pitched their third conference shutout, and their eighth overall to remain unbeaten in Southland play.

Central Arkansas (9-3-1, 4-0-1 SLC) opened the match slowly, but got a solid scoring chance off the counter in the 15^th minute. Abilene Christian (4-7-2, 3-1-1 SLC) fired a corner into the box, where sophomore Ashley Smith headed it out to fellow sophomore Camille Bassett, who dribbled it the length of the field and beat ACU keeper Sydney Newton, but slid the shot just wide, putting it off the post and out. At the half, the Bears had managed just one shot on goal, while surrendering three to the Wildcats.

"We started pretty slow today, but we got it going after the half and really put together a good half and overtime of soccer, where they were having a really hard time getting out of their half and we were locking them in, creating chances, and getting shots off in dangerous spots," said UCA head coach Jeremy Bishop. "We did everything but finish the game off, so we'll definitely keep our heads up."

The Bears dominated possession in the second half and overtime periods, giving up just two shots on goal in the final 65 minutes of action while allowing just two. Despite that dominance, Central Arkansas was unable to find the back of the net. Bassett had another chance in the 48^th minute, heading a screamer that Newton managed to save, while senior Shelby Wilson fired a rocket off the bar in the 54^th minute. Smith was in prime position to field the rebound and hammer it home, but she was ruled offside. UCA was even closer to breaking the tie in the 73^rd minute, as senior Allie Coleman whipped a cross into the box for junior Dayna Mounie who went near post to beat Newton, but again the linesman's flag was raised, disallowing the goal.

"It was frustrating, not only to get those chances and not have them go in, but to actually get two in and have them called back," said Bishop. "When that happens you can just put your head down and feel sorry for yourself, but the girls didn't do that. They kept playing hard, they kept fighting, and they kept creating chances."

The first overtime period saw Bassett and Wilson both put dangerous attempts on target, while Bassett put a second attempt just high and Mounie slid one wide. In the second extra period, it was the Bears' turn to hold their breath, as ACU's Dylan Owen's chipped one over UCA keeper Lauren Mercuri, but sophomore Kristen Ricks was perfectly positioned on the goal line, clearing the ball to preserve the tie with a team save. Bassett gathered the clearance and again covered the majority of the field, but her attempt went high.

On the day, Central Arkansas took 24 shots, putting eight on target. Bassett led the way with three shots on goal, while junior Alex Moore put a pair on target and Wilson, Mounie, and MaKayla Wilson each chipped in with a single shot on frame. Junior Anna Hughes and Mercuri combined for their eighth shutout of the season, with Hughes making three saves in the first half and Mercuri making one in the second half and extra time.

The Bears return to action on Friday night, in a meeting of Southland Conference unbeaten. Central Arkansas will take head to Nacogdoches, Texas to battle the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks (8-2-0, 5-0-0 SLC) at 7:00 PM.

"We'll spend a lot of time this week figuring out what their tendencies are and what they do well, and making sure we're prepared to defend that," said Bishop of the Ladyjacks. "But we know they're a good team, and they have been for what seems like ten years now, so we have to make sure we're ready to play a full game, in every facet of the game, to go to their place and come out with a win."