Conway - On a night that saw five seniors play their last game ever at the Bill Stephens Complex, a rapid start would see the Bears carry the momentum for the remainder of the game as they sent the seniors out in style in a 5-0 win over Northwestern State in their final regular season Southland Conference match. SeniorsLauren Mercuri, Kelsey Quick, Camille Bassett, Kristen Ricks and Autum Schwartz would all be honored prior to the match and would all get the start in their final home game of their careers.
 
Central Arkansas needed just one second to tick off the clock before the night became one for the record books, with Ricks picking up the 79^th start of her career to set a new program record.
 
It didn't take the Bears much longer to get on the board as they found themselves leading after just three minutes. Bassett would pick the ball up around midfield and would beat a host of Lady Demon defenders before eventually finding Connie Awuku-Darkoh on a diagonal pass. Awuku-Darkoh would do the rest, finishing from about 10 yards out into the bottom right corner and the Bears lead 1-0.
 
The 24th minute nearly saw Central Arkansas grab a second after Bassett's rocket of a volley was matched by Northwestern State keeper Kayla Bomben, diving to her left side at full extension and denying Bassett of a great goal. The Bears would continue to apply pressure on the Lady Demon defense however, and would double their advantage four minutes later. A lofted through ball from Hadley Dickinson would put Bassett in a one-on-one with Bomben, and she made no mistake, sliding it into the bottom-right corner and giving the Bears a 2-0 advantage after 28 minutes. It would be the last opportunity created by either team in the first half.
 
Unlike the first half, the second got off to a fairly slow start, and didn't see another goal scored until the 71st minute. Bassett would make it three for Central Arkansas after smashing home a penalty kick into the bottom right corner of the net, scoring her second goal of the night and tying a program career record for goals scored.
 
Even with a comfortable lead, the Bears continued to create chances. They would see their fourth goal of the night come off a left-footed rocket from Bria Williams in the 82nd minute, that saw her shot get deflected and fly over the keeper's head. Savannah Tidd set Williams up for the shot.
 
The fifth and final goal for Central Arkansas would come on a Lauren Hargus finish from point-blank range after Bridget Mansour's ball into the box left Hargus with the easiest of finishes to smash home.
 
The win tonight solidified an undefeated record at home for the Bears and secured a program record 31 wins for a goalkeeper for senior Mercuri. Mercuri also set the record for most shutouts by a goalkeeper in a single season with her eighth clean sheet of the year
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Head coach Jeremy Bishop was pleased with his team's performance tonight despite already having won conference in the previous game.
 
"Coming into tonight with everything pretty much decided for us, the team wanted to continue the streak, they wanted to send our seniors off in a big way and they wanted to remain unbeaten at home," Bishop said on tonight's win.
 
Central Arkansas will take on Northwestern State again in the first round of the Southland Conference tournament on October 31. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:00 AM.