Conway – The Central Arkansas Bears got a set-piece goal and strong defensive performance to open the 2018 season in winning fashion on Friday night, taking down the Georgia State Panthers 1-0 at the Bill Stephens Complex.

Both the Bears (1-0-0) and Panthers (0-1-0) would fire off shots from distance in the first two minutes before GSU's Max Hemmings saw a shot saved by Central Arkansas keeper Marc Olsen in the 15^th minute. Just three minutes later, Central Arkansas found what would prove to be the match's only goal, when Christian Ilia curled a free kick into the box, finding the head of Daltyn Knutson. Knutson beat his defender, got a head on the ball, and guided it just inside the back post, putting the Bears up 1-0.

"We've been hammering the boys with set pieces all preseason," said UCA head coach Ross Duncan. "Basically set pieces and defending are all we've done, so to get a clean sheet and score off a set piece makes me a happy coach."

Niklas Brodacki saw a shot saved in the 25^th minute, and Olsen added another save of his own in the 38^th minute to send the match to the break.

Olsen and GSU counterpart Paul Tyson would trade saves in the early part of the second period, before the teams settled into a defensive stalemate that saw neither side able
to put a shot on frame until the 83^rd minute win Logan Luque sent an arching shot knuckling towards the Central Arkansas goal. The ball dove at the last minute, but Olsen was able to push it just over the bar to preserve the shutout. Central Arkansas turned away the resulting corner kick, and another in the 90^th minute to secure the win.

"It's nice for a backline if they can get some run support," said Duncan of his defense. "I thought we had some good chances, but the defense held firm. There are a couple of freshmen in there, and some other guys that haven't played a lot of minutes of Division I soccer, and we've got some things to work. But ultimately we asked the guys to be brave and win their battles and they did it."

Georgia State finished the night with an 18-11 shooting advantage, but Central Arkansas was the more accurate team on the night, ending with a 5-4 edge in shots on goal. Brodacki put both of his attempts on the night on target, while Knutson, Kasper Andersen, and Moiad Ankir each put one shot on frame. In goal, Olsen made four saves to earn the shutout.

The Bears hit the road for their next match, heading to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to visit Marquette on Thursday evening. Kickoff is set for 7:05 PM.

"Marquette has great history and is a very strong program, we're expecting this to be one of our toughest test of the year," said Duncan.