Dallas, Texas – The Central Arkansas men's soccer team made its first NCAA Tournament appearance on Thursday night, traveling to Westcott Field in Dallas, Texas to take on the Southern Methodist University Mustangs. The Bears saw the most successful season in program history come to a close, falling to the Mustangs by a final score of 2-0.
The Bears (9-11-1) and Mustangs (16-2-1) were evenly matched in the first half, with each side trading probing shots through the early going.
Chris Holmes would give UCA the first solid look of the game in the 18
th minute, firing a shot from 25 yards out that SMU keeper Michael Nelson had to lay out to save. The Mustangs would control possession for the next six minutes, firing off three corners and three shots, before Holmes found
Niklas Brodacki at the back post in the 28
th minute. The UCA attacker leapt over his defender and got his head on the ball, but Nelson was able to make the save again. The Mustangs would get good looks on breakaways in the 39
th and 42
nd minutes, but UCA keeper
Marc Olsen would make the save on both occasions. Olsen would again deliver for the Bears in the 44
th minute, batting away a shot from Bryce Clark on to win a one-on-one and send the match to the halftime break.
The second half would also see the Bears get the first chance, when
Kyosuke Kubota found some space and fired a shot on goal from the left wing in the 48
th minute, but it would be the Mustangs who would find the match's first goal in the 50
th minute. SMU would swing a corner kick wide to Nicky Hernandez, who would fire a shot that Jake Bates was able to deflect. Unfortunately for the Bears, the rebound fell to Emil Cuello, who slid a pass to Garrett McLaughlin. The Mustang forward would fire to the back post, putting SMU up 1-0 with his 14
th goal of the season.
Olsen would add another save in the 52
nd minute, before the Bears took over possession, with Holmes having a shot blocked in the 57
th minute and
Daltyn Knutson sending a header just high in the 58
th minute.
Christian Ilia would see a header saved by Nelson in the 61
st minute, and Kubota would be stopped on a shot from distance just a minute later. The Mustangs would add to their lead in the 73
rd minute, when Eddie Munjoma found Christian Boorom, who wove through the UCA box and beat Olsen to put the Mustangs up 2-0.
The Bears would threaten as the clock wound down, with Kubota, Knutson, and
Pepe San Roman all getting shots off, but were unable to get on the board.
"I'm proud of our effort," said UCA head coach Ross Duncan following the match. "SMU is an overwhelming team to play; they've got athletes, they come at you in waves. The set piece battle determined the match, and the numbers were in their favor there. We did a good job in the possession battle, we created enough chances to generate shots on target, but the set pieces and corners were way in their favor and that's what determined the game."
On the night, Central Arkansas took 13 shots, putting six on goal, while allowing 15, seven on goal, to the Mustangs. Kubota led the attack on the day, putting two of his three shots on target, while Holmes, Brodacki, Ilia, and
Kasper Andersen each put one shot on frame. In goal, Olsen made five saves, many of the highlight-reel variety.
The loss brings to a close what has proven to be the best in the program's Division I history, with the Bears setting new records for overall wins and Missouri Valley Conference wins in a season, going 9-11-1 on the year with a 5-3-0 mark in MVC play. Central Arkansas set 10 offensive records at the DI level as a team, including new marks for points, goals, assists, wins, and game-winning goals, and added nine individual season records and three individual game records, all while winning the program's first Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title.
"It's a special season, I'll never forget it," said Duncan of his team's 2017 campaign. "We've got a group, especially with the older guys, that have been through some tough seasons here and didn't give up. There are some talented players that could have gone to other programs and had different experiences, but they stuck with it, and they're the first team that won a conference championship at the Division I level. No one can ever take that from them. I'm just proud to be part of it."
