Tulsa, Oklahoma – The Central Arkansas women's soccer team closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule on Sunday afternoon, heading to Tulsa, Oklahoma to take on the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles. The Bears fended off a pair of ORU rallies on the day, getting a late goal to earn the 3-2 win.
Central Arkansas (3-5-0) struck early, as
Kristen Ricks played a ball from the left wing into the box, where
Jordan Slim collected it and slipped it past ORU (2-6-0) keeper Ryleigh Bohnenstiel to give the Bears a 1-0 lead with her second goal of the season. The Golden Eagles would answer in the 26
th minute, when Caitlyn Hanslovan threaded a pass through the UCA back line to Amanda Dial, who evened things up at 1-1 with her third goal of the season.
The Bears would see shots from
Anika Sultan and
Lauren Hargus turned away by Bohnenstiel, before retaking the lead in the 44
th minute.
Jessica Pantuso launched a corner into the box for
Avery Taylor, who put the Bears back on top with her first goal since 2014.
The sides would trade chances through the majority of the second half, but it wasn't until the 78
th minute that either team was able to put one away, with Amogelang Motau finding another equalizer for the Golden Eagles. UCA wasted no time in responding though, getting the game-winner off of another set piece just three-and-a-half minutes later.
Camille Bassett would fire a shot that Bohnenstiel was able to push away, but
Alex Wetteland would fire the resulting corner into the box, where
Stacia Carroll was able to head it home, putting the Bears on top with her second goal of the season.
On the day, the Bears were incredibly efficient, taking 14 shots and putting 12 of them on goal. Bassett put all three of her attempts on target, while Ricks and Hargus each had a pair of shots on goal. Taylor, Sultan, Carroll, Slim, and
Dayna Mounie all put one shot on frame. In goal,
Lauren Mercuri made a pair of saves.
The Bears close out their three-match road trip on Friday night, heading to Huntsville, Texas to open Southland Conference play at Sam Houston State. Kickoff is set for 6:30 PM.
"We played well, like we have several times this year," said UCA head coach Jeremy Bishop. "But today we were able to make good on some scoring chances and get the result. Now we are excited to start conference play and I believe we are ready."
