Conway – After a strong start in against eight non-conference opponents, the Central Arkansas women's soccer team is set to open Southland Conference play this weekend. The Bears will host Sam Houston State at the Bill Stephens Complex at 7:00 PM on Friday night.

Central Arkansas (5-3) has dominated the first half so far this season, outscoring its opponents eight to two in the first 45 minutes of its matches. The Bears have turned that dominance into a halftime lead in all but one of its matches so far this season. Offensively, the Bears have spread the wealth, with eight players combining for 11 goals. Sophomores Ashley Smith and Camille Bassett lead the way with three and two goals, respectively, while senior Chele Naudin, junior Alex Moore, sophomore Autum Schwartz, and freshmen Anslea Haikey and Jordan Slim have each added one goal.

"It's great to have several players getting on the scoresheet already," said UCA head coach Jeremy Bishop. "I think this shows that we are able to attack in different ways and with different personnel. Having balance in our attack, multiple players capable of scoring goals and in different ways will give us options in how we are able to create our scoring chances, which will be very important base upon our opponent in each match. If we need to be direct, we can do that; if we need to build the attack, we can do that as well, which should make it more difficult for our opponents to game plan for us."

As good as the Bears have been offensively, it's on the defensive front where they have really shined, picking up five shut outs, including four straight in wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Monroe, and Kansas State. On the year, the Bears have allowed just six goals in eight matches for an average of just 0.74 per game. Junior Stacia Carroll and sophomore Kristen Ricks lead the way defensively, with each starting all eight of UCA's matches and playing over 700 minutes so far, while juniors MaKayla Wilson, Allie Moroney, and Karly Kliever, and sophomore Kelsey Quick have all contributed heavy minutes in the defensive rotation.

"It can definitely take some pressure off of our offense when they're that good," Bishop said of his back line. "I think we feel pretty good about being able to win close games, because we don't have to score a lot of goals to win. That being said, we have to make sure that we continue to limit our opponents' scoring chances, and on the flip side, do a good job of finishing our opportunities. I would imagine that we will have a lot of close matches in conference play, so doing those things will be the difference in matches."

In goal, Central Arkansas is led by two of the best goalkeepers in the Southland in junior Anna Hughes and sophomore Lauren Mercuri. The pair has split time almost exactly evenly, with Hughes playing the first half for UCA and Mercuri coming on at the break and playing the second half and overtime. Hughes leads the conference with a miniscule 0.25 goals against average and a .917 save percentage, while Mercuri has been her equal, ranking second with a .828 save percentage and allowing just 1.20 goals per game to rank fourth in the league.

"Those two are playing at such a high level right now, which is huge for our defense," said Bishop of his net-minders. "Not only are they stopping the routine saves, but they have both come up with big saves. Everyone feels really good about either one of them being on the field. It's a rare situation, and not something that we thought we would do going to into the season. We thought both would play and we would go full games with both, but after the first weekend of the season, the platoon was working, so we just stayed with it."

Bishop credits his midfield with contributing to the Bears' success in all sections of the field, saying, "We've talked a lot about our defense, goal keeping, and that we've had several players supplying our goals so far this season," he said. "Those things are true, and have all been really good, but also feel like our midfield has been a huge part of that. Allie Coleman, Shelby Wilson, Alex Moore, Dayna Mounie, Autum Schwartz, Jessica Pantuso, and Anslea Haikey are doing lots of the work to get pressure on the ball which really helps in defending, and they are usually the ones that are holding possession for us and starting the attack. Their work in the middle of the field, and especially in transition, has been really good for us."

Bishop is excited about the work his team has done so far this season, and believes it will serve his squad well as they move into conference play, saying, "We have tried to make the non-conference portion of our schedule more difficult each year. Playing against teams that we feel can really push us, even show us our weaknesses so we can train those areas to get better, but also knowing that if we can have success our confidence will build. That's where we should be right now, confident in our ability to compete with anyone, but knowing that it will take focus, preparation, and a lot of hard work to get the results we want in conference play."

Sam Houston State (0-8) enters the match riding an eight game losing streak to open the season. The Bearkats have scored three goals on the year, while allowing 36, including seven to Texas and eight to Utah Valley. Senior Allie Johnson, sophomore Micaela Birt, and freshman Kaylee Davis have each scored a goal on the season. Central Arkansas trails in the all-time series with SHSU by a tally of 2-8-1. The Bears went 0-1-1 against the Bearkats last season, falling 2-1 in overtime in Huntsville, Texas in the regular season before the teams played to a scoreless draw in the first round of the Southland Conference Tournament in Conway. SHSU advanced thanks to a 4-3 edge in the penalty shootout.