Beaumont, Texas – The Central Arkansas Bears will open play in the 2018 Southland Conference Tournament this morning at 11:00 AM, taking on the eighth-seeded Northwestern State Lady Demons in the first match of the opening day of play at Lamar's LU Soccer Complex.

Central Arkansas, who earned the number-one seed in the tournament following a 10-1-0 run through the Southland Conference schedule to win their second regular season title in the past three seasons, enter the match with an NCAA-best 50 goals through 19 games this season. The Central Arkansas attack is led by Southland Player of the Year Camille Bassett (12 goals, 5 assists) and SLC Newcomer of the Year Connie Awuku-Darkoh (12 goals, 3 assists) who are tied for 20^th in the nation in goals while ranking 23^rd and 38^th nationally in points. The UCA midfield features All-SLC First Team honoree Hadley Dickinson (3 goals, 4 assist) and All-SLC Honorable Mention Anika Sultan (4 goals), while the Central Arkansas defense, which allowed just 0.74 goals per game is anchored by SLC Defender of the Year Kristen Ricks (SLC-best eight assists) and All-SLC Honorable Mention Kelsey Quick. In goal the Bears will lean on SLC Goalkeeper of the Year Lauren Mercuri, who tied for the league lead with eight shutouts and ranked second in goals against average (0.76) while winning a program record 15 games.

"We are looking forward to the opportunity this week at the tournament," said SLC Coach of the Year Jeremy Bishop. "We know that the regular season results were great, but they will not really have any impact on the matches ahead of us. The postseason is a new season and we have to come ready to play every match with passion and focus. If we can do that and make plays on scoring opportunities on both ends of the field, we will have a great week."

The Bears will begin that week against one of the strongest offenses in the Southland Conference, in a Lady Demon squad that ranks 25^th in the nation with 40 goals. NSU is led by All-Southland Conference Second Team selection April Trowbridge (13 goals, 6 assists). The Lady Demons, who Central Arkansas beat 5-0 to close the regular season on October 26^th, allow an average of 1.42 goals per game.

The winner of the match will move on to a semifinal matchup against either fourth-seeded McNeese or fifth-seeded Abilene Christian at 4:00 PM on Friday. The winner of that match will advance to the SLC Championship Match, which is set for 1:05 PM on Sunday.