Conway – After coming off a 3-0 home victory in the Conway Classic against Central Baptist College, Central Arkansas (2-1-1) headed to San Antonio to face the Cardinals of Incarnate Word University (0-3-1) that saw them draw after 110 minutes of play at two goals apiece.
Incarnate got off to a flying start as they saw their first shot of the game hit the back of the net in the 7th minute as forward Mateo Gutierez grabbed his first goal of the season, putting the Cardinals up 1-0. Central Arkansas would respond quickly as a strike from defender
Nate Lancaster forced a save from Incarnate Word keeper Carlos Mercado early in the 8th minute.
Incarnate word would counter as they saw a shot from Carlos Guerrero fly high in the 12th minute. Central Arkansas keeper
Marc Olsen was called into action for the first time in the 13th minute as he was forced to make a save on a strike from Incarnate Word's Miguel Ojeda.
After a 20 minute period saw no shots from either team, Incarnate Word would grab their second goal of the night in the 33rd minute on a strike from Thomas Bibby, putting the Cardinals up 2-0. Central Arkansas would create opportunities towards the end of the first half that included a shot from Lancaster in the 39th minute that flew high and a header effort from
Francesco Caorsi that went just wide in the 43rd minute. The Bears would round off the first half on an effort from
Christian Ilia in the 45th minute that went wide.
The Bears got off to a flying start in the second half, earning a penalty kick just four minutes in. Forward
Niklas Brodacki, stepped up for the Bears and buried the penalty, cutting the Cardinal lead in half with over 40 minutes still to play in the second half. The Bears would continue to pressure the Cardinals as keeper Carlos Mercado was called into action for the second time, saving a header attempt from UCA's
Kyosuke Kubota in the 58th minute.
Olsen was called into action for the second time in the 61st minute, saving a strike from Thomas Bibby. After three more shot attempts, the Bears would finally even things at 2-2 in the 80th minute as Brodacki found himself in a 1-on-1 situation with Mercado and stroked it home with a classy finish.
Overtime was relatively quiet for both periods, however UCA had a chance to win it in the very last seconds as
Moiad Ankir found himself in a great position, about eight yards away from goal, but unfortunately skied his shot with one second to spare as the game ended in a hard fought 2-2 draw after 110 minutes of play.
"It's a frustrating result because it took us 45 minutes to start competing," said UCA head coach Ross Duncan. "We came out flat and allowed them to take the game over, and then it was up to us to find a way back in. I think we learned that we've got more fighting in us than we knew, which is definitely something we can work with and we will need to rely on throughout the season, but we need to come out from the first whistle with that mentality," said Duncan.
The Bears return to action Sunday afternoon as they travel to Houston to face the Huskies of Houston Baptist University. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 PM.
