Valparaiso, Indiana – The Central Arkansas men's soccer team hit the road on Saturday, traveling to Valparaiso, Indiana to take on the Missouri Valley Conference's newest member, the Valparaiso Crusaders. The Bears got goals from Jake Bates, Niklas Brodacki, and Colton Jackson to earn the 3-2 win and a valuable three points in the MVC standings.

Valparaiso (3-4-1, 2-1-0 MVC) threatened early getting shots on goal from Rafael Mentzingen and Jordan James in the seventh minute, before Adan Garcia fired a free kick from 25 yards out off the crossbar and in for the 1-0 lead. Central Arkansas (2-6-0, 1-1-0 MVC) responded in the 30^th minute, when, as he has done all season, Pepe San Roman played a dangerous ball into the box off a set piece, launching a corner kick to the back post for Bates to head home and even the score with his first collegiate goal. The assist was San Roman's second of the season. The Bears looked to have another goal off a corner in the 35^th minute, as Chris Holmes found Daltyn Knutson, but
Crusader keeper Nacho Miras was able to make the save.

UCA would open the second half with an early goal, as Nate Lancaster and Lucas Genty combined to play a ball through the Valpo backline to Brodacki, who beat Miras in the one-on-one to put the Bears up 2-1 with his fifth strike of the season. Brodacki would add an assist to his tally in the 81^st minute, slipping a pass to Colton Jackson in a two-one-one breakaway. Jackson fired a shot to the far post, pushing the UCA lead to 3-1 with his first goal of the season.

Jackson's goal would prove to be the difference-maker, as Jacob Keck would score off of a rebound to cut the lead to 3-2 in the 87^th minute. Valpo would get a final chance in the 88^th minute, when Michael Marchionna headed a shot on goal, but UCA keeper Marc Olsen was up to the task, making the save and preserving the win.

On the day, the Bears were outshot 17-11 and were at an 8-5 disadvantage in shots on goal, but made the most of their chances, scoring three goals on five shots on target. Brodacki, San Roman, and Jackson each put their only attempt on frame, while Bates and Knutson both put one of their two attempts on target. In goal, Olsen made six saves to earn the win.

"The boys really stepped up today," said UCA head coach Ross Duncan. "During the bye weekend we put it on them; they worked harder in training than they've worked all year and they really showed a strong response. Our mentality was excellent leading up, and right through, the match. If I'm being honest, I still want to see more in terms of quality decisions being made when we are fatigued; we made it difficult on ourselves and we need to make improvements there. But that's not what today was about. Today was about which team wanted it more, and that was us. We will enjoy the flight back tonight, but we have a quick turnaround to prep for Drake. Fortunately we have been getting our scout prepared ahead of time, so it will just be a matter of getting our legs back from today and making some adjustments for our next opponent. The boys will be ready."

The Bears return to action on Tuesday night, hosting the Bulldogs at the Bill Stephens Complex. Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM.