Conway – The Central Arkansas men's soccer team is set for possibly its toughest test of the season this weekend, as the Bears will welcome twelfth-ranked Loyola Chicago to the Bill Stephens Complex at 7:00 PM on Sunday night.
"The crowds have been awesome," said UCA head coach Ross Duncan of the Bears' return to the Stephens. "It's such a cool experience to be on sideline and look over and see hundreds of fans going crazy when we're scoring. I think a lot of the credit for that goes to the guys and the things they're doing on the field, because the crowd doesn't come if it's not exciting to watch. We're scoring goals, and we've got some good momentum within the program, and we're a fun team to watch this year, is driving that attendance. There's more people taking an interest in soccer in general, and we're the highest-level around, so that helps, and it's really cool to see the growth of the sport in the area."
The Bears (2-4-1, 0-1-0 MVC) are looking to break a slump that has seen them go 0-4-1 in their last five matches, though UCA has held a lead in three of those matches and the past three have all gone to overtime. The Central Arkansas offense is led by freshman
Niklas Brodacki, who leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks first in the NCAA among freshman with six goals this season. The duo of senior
Wes Carson and sophomore
Chris Holmes have each found the net three times this year, tying for fourth in the MVC. In goal the Bears depend on freshman
Marc Olsen, who has started all seven matches, allowing 1.22 goals per match and compiling a save percentage of .743.
"This has been a great week of training for us," said Duncan. "We have been able to strengthen multiple areas of our system and prepare for what will be a very a competitive match Saturday night. The boys are primed for a a very good performance and could not be more excited about the match."
The Ramblers (7-1-0, 2-0-0) are coming off their first loss of the season, a 3-0 defeat at #10 Creighton. LU leads the Valley with an average of 1.88 goals per game and has allowed a league-best 0.62 goals per game. Sophomores Alex Lasinski and Grant Stoneman lead the Ramblers with three goals each, while junior Brody Kraussel has a team-high eight points thanks to an MVC-best six assists. In goal, junior Andrew Chekadanov has proven to be one of the best keepers in the MVC, leading the league with six shutouts and a GAA of 0.63. The Ramblers lead the all-time series with the Bears with a 2-1-1 record and won last season's meeting 3-0 in Chicago.
"The Missouri Valley Conference is in a great spot right now," said Duncan. "It has always been strong, but now that we've got teams like Loyola having the type of season that they are having, we are in an even better position."
