Conway – The Central Arkansas women's soccer team opened the home portion of their Southland Conference schedule on Friday night, hosting the Lamar Cardinals at the Bill Stephens Complex. The Cardinals would get the game's first goal, but the Bears would respond with four straight to earn the 4-1 win.

Central Arkansas (5-5-0, 2-0-0 SLC) controlled possession early, getting dangerous looks from Kristen Ricks and Camille Bassett in the first 12 minutes of the match, before Lamar (6-3-1, 1-1-0 SLC) responded with a pair of solid runs down the left side from Lucy Ashworth that resulted in decent looks from Kelso Peskin. UCA would get the game's first shot on goal in the 24^th minute, as Hadley Dickinson created a bit of space and fired a rocket from six yards out that LU keeper Lauren Lovejoy was able to make a spectacular save on, fully extending to her right and pushing the shot wide with her fingertips. Bassett would get another look in the 25^th minute, but it would be Lamar that would strike first, when Ashworth made another run down the left side, firing a cross to Peskin, who headed it home from six yards out to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead with her third goal of the season.

The Bears would respond in the 33^rd minute, when Dickinson played a ball through the Cardinal back line to Jordan Slim, who finished from 12 yards out to even the match at 1-1 with her third strike of the season. UCA would strike again just five minutes later, when Dayna Mounie played a cross to Ashley Smith. Smith slid and redirected the ball wide to Alex Moore, who tapped it in from four yards out to put the Bears up 2-1 with her first goal of the season.

"We were playing well, and not getting the ball in," said UCA head coach Jeremy Bishop. "Give credit to their goalkeeper, she made some big-time saves, and then they were able to get a goal against the run of play, and that can really deflate a team. But we just went back to work; we knew that there was plenty of game and a lot of time left, and if we just kept working and doing what we were supposed to do that we would keep getting those chances. We did that and we were able to get a couple of goals before the half and a couple more after."

Central Arkansas would add an insurance goal in the 56^th minute, with Maci Schoonover playing a ball over the Lamar defense to Bassett, who slid and pushed the ball over Lovejoy, making the UCA advantage 3-1 with her second goal of the season. Mounie would cap the evening's scoring in the 64^th minute, gathering a pass from Bassett and slotting it home from five yards out for her team-best fourth goal of the season.

"To be able to go out and execute some things we talked about at halftime was good to see," said Bishop. "To be able to give ourselves more chances to score because of those things is going to be big, because there are going to be adjustments that we have to make throughout the season. So when we can talk about things at halftime, go out and fix it, that's big time. The girls did a good job of going back out an not thinking it was over, which it wasn't because Lamar is a good team with some good attacking players, so we had to make sure to keep playing the game."

On the night, the Bears outshot the Cardinals 16-8 and held a 6-2 edge in shots on goal. Bassett ended the night with a goal and an assist while putting two of her six shots on goal, while Mounie also tallied a goal and an assist while putting her only shot on frame. Dickinson, Slim, and Moore each added a shot on goal. In net, Lauren Mercuri made one save to earn the win.

Central Arkansas returns to action on Sunday afternoon, welcoming the McNeese State Cowgirls to the Stephens Complex. Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM.

"We've got to be a little bit sharper in our passing on Sunday," said Bishop. "We missed a lot of passes in the first half that created Lamar's chances in the first half, so we have to be sharper in possession and in making sure we hit the target."