Corpus Christi, Texas –
Prior to tonight, Central Arkansas (11-3-1,6-1-0 SLC) had yet to trail in a game during their win streak which was extended to five after defeating the Islanders of Texas A&M Corpus Christi 2-1. Tonight was a different story as Central Arkansas had to claw their way back in after falling behind early on. The win puts the Bears one point behind Southland Conference leader Houston Baptist in the Southland Conference standings.
Central Arkansas nearly got on the scoresheet early as
Dawson Depperschmidt's corner kick eventually fell to
Connie Awuku-Darkoh, who would force Corpus Christi keeper Kyleigh Hall to make her first save of the evening less than five minutes in. Corpus Christi would create chances in the 12th and 16th minute as strikes from Dana Curtis and Reaghan Lang produced saves from UCA keeper
Lauren Mercuri.
The Islanders would take the lead in the 19th minute after Kayla Gove outpaced the entire Central Arkansas backline, leaving her one-on -one with Mercuri. Gove would beat Mercuri with her left foot and gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead. It would be the first time Central Arkansas has trailed in over 378 minutes of play.
The Bears would continue to fight as Kristen Ricks forced a Hall save in the 35th minute. The Bears would draw even in the 42nd minute after
Bria Williams converted on an assist from
Savannah Tidd. It would be Williams' fourth goal of the season.
The second half saw action early on as both teams would post shots on frame less than five minutes in. Mercuri was forced to make a save a minute into the second half after a strike from Lang but the Bears would counter that opportunity in the 48th minute after Awuku-Daroh's strike on frame forced another save from Hall.
The Bears continued to apply pressure as Camille Bassett saw two shots on target in the 60th and 63rd minute both matched on saves from Hall and the score still remained deadlocked at one goal each.
Six minutes later saw the Bears take a 2-1 advantage after Anika Sultan's strike found its way into the back of the net. The lead would nearly double in the 75th minute after
Camille Bassett's strike rattled the post and the score remained 2-1. Central Arkansas would not see another shot posted the rest of the game and managed to hang on for the 2-1 victory, extending their win streak to five.
UCA coach Jeremy Bishop was proud of his team's effort in fighting their way back into the game and completing the comeback.
"The team showed a lot of heart tonight by fighting back after giving up the early goal. We had good chances to score early and more as the match went along, but we didn't finish. When you do that, the opponent starts to believe and that makes it more difficult, but we fought through it and got the result."
Central Arkansas not only has the chance to extend their win streak to six, but they also have a chance to overtake the number one spot in the Southland Conference standings Sunday afternoon as they take on current Southland Conference leader Houston Baptist.
