Hammond, Louisiana – The Central Arkansas Bears continued a regular season-ending three-match road trip on Sunday evening, heading to Hammond, Louisiana to take on the Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions. Despite a slow first half, the Bears emerged victorious, thanks to a 74^th minute goal from Anika Sultan.

SLU (4-10-3, 2-6-2 SLC) dictated the pace of play in the first half, holding Central Arkansas (10-8-0, 7-3-0 SLC) to just three shots while firing off seven shots of their own. Dayna Mounie gave Central Arkansas its first look of the game in the 18^th minute, but her shot was saved by SLU keeper Michaela Hawthorne made the first of her 10 saves on the day to keep the Bears off the board. Camille Bassett and Hadley Dickinson had the other chances for the Bears, but their shots went wide and high, respectively.

The Bears adjusted well out of the break, taking 12 shots in the second half and putting 10 of them on goal . MaKayla Wilson gave the Bears their first look in the 47^th minute, but her header was saved by Hawthorne, while Ashley Smith saw her shot turned aside in the 54^th. UCA keeper Anna Hughes, who made three saves in the first half, delivered a highlight reel stop in the 55^th minute, fully extending to push a shot from SLU's Maggie Hayes wide and keep the match scoreless.

A solid run of possession saw Smith rejected twice and Mounie turned away once in a 90 second span, before Hughes was required to make a pair of saves in 25 seconds in the 63^rd minute. The sides would trade shots over the next 10 minutes, before the Bears finally broke the stalemate in the 74^th minute. The SLU defense broke the initial attack, but a deflection fell to Alex Moore. The UCA senior slid a pass to Sultan, who curled a shot around Hawthorne and inside the left post to put Central Arkansas up 1-0 with her first collegiate goal. The Bears controlled the rest of the match, with Bassett, Smith, and Dickinson all putting attempts on goal, but were unable to add to the lead.

"We played a really good match tonight," said UCA head coach Jeremy Bishop. "Southeastern Louisiana really came out with a lot of energy, played very physical, and worked extremely hard. But we responded really well to it and were able to control most of the play. Our goal came off of a really good attacking sequence that they were able to make the save on to begin with, but when it popped out to Alex she found Ani, who hit a great first-time strike to the back post. Ten wins is a mark of a really good season. To get there, even with some of the frustrating results we've had this year is amazing, and shows just how good this team is, and can become."

On the day, the Lady Lions took two more shots than the Bears, holding a 17 to 15 edge, but the UCA had an 11 to seven advantage in shots on goal. Smith led the Central Arkansas attack, putting all four of her shots on goal, and Mounie placed both of her attempts on target, while Bassett, Dickinson, Sultan, Willson, and Jordan Slim each put a single shot on frame. In goal, Hughes made seven saves to earn her second clean sheet of the season.

The Bears will close out the regular season on Friday night, traveling to Natchitoches, Louisiana to face off with the Northwestern State Lady Demons. Central Arkansas will then travel to Corpus Christi, Texas to take part in its third-straight Southland Conference Tournament, which kicks off on Wednesday, November 1^st.