Saint Louis, Mo. - After suffering their first home loss of the season to a competitive UTRGV squad 2-1, Central Arkansas (2-3-1) would travel to St. Louis to face a St. Louis University (3-1-2) squad that entered the game unbeaten in its last three matchups. The Billikens would extend their unbeaten streak to four games as they were able to edge UCA in a hard-fought 2-1 battle.
 
The game got off to a slow start as neither team attempted a shot during the first 30 minutes of play. St. Louis would generate their first real chance of the game in the 31st minute on a corner kick from Leo Novaes. Novaes' corner would find the head of Quayyum Muranna, forcing UCA keeper Marc Olsen to make his first save of the night. The Bilikens would continue to apply the pressure as they generated another shot from Andre Rivers-Hardware in the 37th minute that went wide of Olsen's net.
 
The deadlock would finally be broken towards the later stages of the first half as St. Louis saw their first goal come off a set piece. What appeared to be a difficult angle didn't stop Leo Novaes from attempting a shot directly off of the free kick and he was able to put the Billikens 1-0 in the 41st minute. Novaes' goal would be the last chance generated by either team in the first half.
 
The second half saw a much quicker start, as Olsen was called into action less than four minutes in, denying Leo Novaes his second goal of the match. Novaes would continue to be threatening for the Bilikens, as he saw another set piece opportunity in the 53rd minute strike the crossbar.
 
The Billikens would generate another chance in the 67th minute when Olsen was forced to make back-to-back saves, before Central Arkansas saw a great equalizing opportunity come from a set piece in the 71st minute. The free kick led to header by Daltyn Knutson, but Billiken keeper Ty Frederking was equal to the task and was able to make the save.
 
Four minutes later, the Bears saw themselves trailing 2-0 as Josh Klein's strike from the top of the box found its way into the bottom corner of Olsen's net.
 
The Bears would cut the deficit in half in the 85th minute as Niklas Brodacki was able to convert from the penalty spot, leaving just over five minutes to try and equalize. Central Arkansas would generate a corner kick one minute later, but ultimately wasn't able to take advantage as they fell 2-1.
 
"The difference in the match was a loss of focus on a set piece near the end of the first half; if we don't give that one away then halftime is much different," said UCA head coach Ross Duncan. "We came out strong again in the second half, but had to take some risks to try and get the goal back. We finally started generating dangerous attacking chances late in the half, but it was too little, too late."
 
Duncan was pleased with the spirit his team showed on the night, saying, "We competed well against a top team and learned some valuable lessons that we can take into conference play next weekend."
 
The Bears will open up Missouri Valley Conference play this Saturday night at the Stephens Complex. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM