Lake Charles, Louisiana—The Central Arkansas Bears took a three-game win streak to Lake Charles to face a strong McNeese Cowgirls squad and left with a 1-0 win and their third straight shutout. Savannah Tidd's second goal of the year proved huge for the Bears as she connected in the 38^th minute off an Autum Schwartz assist. Lauren Mercuri recorded her 10^th win on the year and finished with five saves. Coach Jeremy Bishop was proud of his team's resilience on the road facing some adversity.
 
"Today was a really difficult match. McNeese is very good, we are at their place and the weather conditions were tough. That combination can often mean a bad result, but our group held strong and got it done today," Bishop said. "I'm really proud of our defending and our mentality seems to be getting tougher each match."
 
The first half did not see a high volume of attack as both teams combined for seven shots and just three on goal, two by the Bears. The first shot on goal came early as the Bears almost took the lead in the 10^th minute, but a Jordan Slim header was saved by Cowgirl goalkeeper Emma Roccaforte. McNeese's lone shot on goal came in the 28^th minute when Havana Johnson had a clean look on goal, but Mercuri made the save. Six minutes after Tidd landed a shot wide, she beat the goalie in a one-on-one move and netted the lone goal of the day to make it 1-0 in the 38^th minute.
 
The Cowgirls turned up their offense in the second half and sent seven shots toward Mercuri and three on goal. They also found themselves with six corners throughout the half, giving themselves plenty of chances to even things up. The Bears felt the pressure early on as Morgan Middleton sent a shot on goal that had to be stopped by the defense. The Cowgirls kept coming as they landed two shots on goal in back-to-back minutes, but Mercuri stood strong and the Bears held their lead in the 58^th minute. McNeese would record one more shot on goal in the 73^rd minute, but the narrative continued as Mercuri kept her shutout intact. The ball got near Central Arkansas' goal one more time in the 84^th minute, but Mairah Ruelas' shot went wide.
 
The Bears will spend the week prepping for another crucial conference weekend as they will go to Texas for a two-game road trip against the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders and conference leader Houston Baptist Huskies. Bears will face the Islanders on October 12 at 7 P.M.