CONWAY, AR –  The Central Arkansas women's soccer squad found themselves in a second consecutive conference match that went beyond 90 minutes. However, some unlucky bounces that didn't go the Bears' way led to a second consecutive extra time loss by golden goal rule. 
 
Despite going down 1-0 midway through the first half, the Bears continued to fight and ultimately equalized in the 70th minute. Central Arkansas would continue to create chances, finishing the match with 19 total shots and hitting 11 of them target; but would end up falling in the final moments of the match, conceding a goal on a corner kick set piece in the 109th minute. 
 
First Half
 

• UCA's Hadley Dickinson nearly opened the scoring account for the Bears in the 15th minute as her corner kick almost went straight in, rattling the crossbar on its way out. 
• McNeese would break the deadlock in the 29th minute on what was ultimately a scrum in the box that led to an open net finish for Brianna Mascia. 
• The Bears would nearly respond almost immediately in the 30th minute on a Morgan Rollow diagonal ball that found the foot of Emma Hawkins, whose left-footed half volley effort smashed the crossbar. 
• The Bears would get two more great chances in the closing moments of the first half, both courtesy of Abby Gibson, who found herself in one on one positions with the McNeese keeper, but was unable to find the back of the net courtesy of two really good saves from five yards out. 

 
Second Half
 

• Hawkins would keep the chances coming for the Bears in the 49th and 54th minute, forcing saves from the McNeese keeper on hard hit strikes. 
• Goalkeeper Reagan McCombs came up big for the Bears in the 64th minute, denying the Cowgirls a second goal on a spectacular double save from point blank range. 
• The Bears would finally get their equalizer in the 70th minute on a Hadley Dickinson finish from just inside the six yard box. Hawkins and Lily Sultan combined for the double assist. 
• The 74th minute saw McCombs grab yet another save as she parried out a hard hit strike heading into the top left corner for a corner kick. 

 
Extra Time
 

• The Bears nearly found a golden goal winner in the 93rd minute on a Connie Awuku-Darkoh strike that was saved by the McNeese keeper as it nearly crept into the bottom right corner of the net. 
• In the final moments of the match, McNeese would score in the 109th minute on a corner kick that just snuck past McCombs, who got a finger on it but just not enough to keep it out, leading to a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat. 

McCombs had a breakout night with nine total saves, while the Bears had arguably their best attacking performance of the season in regards to chances created. 
 
Derek Nichols Quotes
 
The Bears played tonight's match without their patriarch in Jeremy Bishop and associate head coach Derek Nichols filled the void and was thoroughly pleased with the team's overall performance.
 
"I felt like the level and the energy we played with tonight was where it needed to be. We did everything we needed to do to win the match ,but soccer is a cruel sport and it didn't go our way tonight. We're playing well, we're just not getting the results we may (or feel like we) deserve, but regardless of what happens, we can't feel sorry for ourselves. We could easily be 2-0 in conference right now, but we're not so we just have to come back and get ready for the next one."
 
On Deck
 
The Bears are back in action Sunday afternoon as they host Lamar at the Bill Stephens Complex. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 PM.