Beaumont, Texas – The Central Arkansas Bears saw the winningest season in program history end on Friday night as they fell to the Abilene Christian Wildcats 1-0 in the Southland Conference Semifinals. In a match where scoring chances were rare, an ACU goal in the 76^th minute was enough for the win. Abilene Christian outshot Central Arkansas 14-7 and capitalized on four shots on goal in the second half. Coach Jeremy Bishop was proud of his team's effort against a well-prepared Wildcats team.
 
"I thought we played well. We have to credit ACU for their energy and the organization they brought defensively. They were hard to break down," Bishop said. "The game could've gone either way, it just didn't go our way today."
 
The Bears created the first offensive attack of the match in the third minute as Connie Awuku-Darkoh played a ball up to Camille Bassett on the left side, but Wildcats goalkeeper Rachel Johnson got to the ball first before Bassett could put it away. Bassett got another chance in the 14^th minute when Jordan Slim drove the ball up the field and laid it off to her on the right side of the box, but Johnson made the save. The Abilene Christian offense came alive in the 22^nd minute when Sophie Standifer sent a shot in from the top right of the box, but Lauren Mercuri made a huge stop and hit the ball over the goal for a corner kick. Off the corner, Standifer had another great look from the top of the box, but Mercuri made an identical save to keep it scoreless early. Both teams got looks the rest of the half, but none threatening enough to break open the score.
 
Central Arkansas had its best look of the day in the 55^th minute when Mercuri launched a kick past midfield that landed at Awuku-Darkoh's feet, but a play to Slim that would see her have a shot on goal could not get past Johnson as she kept Central Arkansas off the board. There was a stall of offensive attack by both sides until the Wildcats broke the tie in the 76^th minute. Shay Johnson found the net for Abilene Christian after a ball was played into the box that she finished past Mercuri in the right corner. The Bears would get one more look on goal to tie it in the 86^th minute when Kristen Ricks played a ball in the box, but Bassett could not keep the shot down as it sailed over goal.
 
The Bears finish their season with an impressive 16-4-1 record, marking a program record in wins. They always entertained their home crowd as they finished 9-0-1 at the Stephens Complex. Mercuri had a year for the record books as she finished with program highs in wins (16) and shutouts (8.3), earning her Goalkeeper of the Year. Bassett, named both Player and Forward of the Year, notched her 40^th goal of her career in the quarterfinals to mark a new program record and tied for most points in a Bears uniform with 92. As a team, they finished second in school history with 140 points, third in goals with 50 and first in penalty kicks made with five. Coach Bishop knew there was plenty of reason for optimism after a successful season.
 
"When we have a minute to step back from the loss, we'll realize that it was an amazing season where we set a lot of records. I'm very proud of this group and where the program's at right now," Bishop said. "There are some things that the ones who are returning can learn from. A big part of that is looking at the senior group in what they've been able to do and the ambassadors they have been for our program in every imaginable way. We talk a lot about being responsible and staying positive, and those guys did it the way we wanted it to be done."