CONWAY, ARK. – Central Arkansas men's soccer capped off a perfect weekend in Conway after defeating Houston Baptist this afternoon 4-0. It was the fourth game in nine days for the Bears, finishing the stint with three wins and only one loss.
UCA (4-1-1) was firing on all cylinders throughout the match as they finished with 25 total shots, hitting 15 of them on frame. They displayed patient, buildup and kept the ball for the majority of the match, dominating the possession game 58 percent to HBU's 42.
First Half
- The 25th minute saw the first great chance for the Bears when Niklas Brodacki found himself in a one on one position with HBU keeper Jorge Guzman. Brodacki's first effort was parried right back into the path of the Sweedish striker whose hard hit strike on the second effort was again denied by Guzman, quickly diving down to his right to keep it out.
- Brodacki however, would get his reward in the 29th minute on what was a beautifully worked team goal. Combination play involving Vicent Abaso and Soren Jensen was capped off by Brodacki, scoring his third goal in two games.
- Moaid Ankir would double the Bears' advantage in the 37th minute on another beautifully worked goal. Combination play with Kyosuke Kubota put Ankir in position to side foot it into the top left corner as he hammered the Bears to a 2-0 lead.
- Rowan Laufer nearly made it three in the 42nd minute after a ball over the top saw him a footrace with HBU keeper Guzman. Laufer would get there first but was unable to keep his chip effort down as he struck it over the top of the crossbar. It would be the final chance of the half for either team.
Second Half
- Kasper Andersen grabbed the Bears' third goal of the afternoon in the 53rd minute after a wonderful ball over the top from Soren Jensen put the Denmark International in a one on one opportunity with Guzman. Andersen took care of the rest by rounding off the goalkeeper and passing it into an empty for his second goal of the season.
- Alexsi Morel nearly captured his first goal of his UCA career in the 65th minute after his hard hit near-post strike from just outside the penalty area forced yet another save from Guzman.
- The final goal of the afternoon would come in the 70th minute courtesy of Truls Krabbesund Hansen, who capped off another great team move involving Edoardo Calzola and Kyosuke Kubota. It was the first goal of Hansen's career.
Kyosuke Kubota finished the match with two assists, while goalkeeper
Marc Olsen finished with three saves, including a 48th minute save on a free kick strike that was headed into the top corner.
Ross Duncan Quotes
"I thought this was our best game in terms of making our opponent struggle without the ball. In previous matches we had been a little naive with our possession; Today we just kept it simple. I think the guys that came in had a massive impact on the game. We were able to bring in fresh legs and it lifted us. We knew it was going to be a tough four games in nine days and we came out of that 3-1 which is massive."
On Deck
The Bears will be back in action next weekend as they travel to south Texas to take on University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley. Kickoff for that match is scheduled for 7:00 PM.