CONWAY, Ark. - Central Arkansas women's soccer hosted in-state opponent Arkansas State, in a tightly contested battle, as the Bears dropped their first game of the season, 2-0.

The Arkansas State Red Wolves travelled down to Conway in their first game of the season. Central Arkansas was playing their second, following a 1-0 win over Little Rock on Thursday night. The game was tightly contested from the first kick of the ball, which began picking up intensity when Anika Sultan fired a shot towards goal forcing a save from the Red Wolves goalkeeper. 

The teams would exchange swings in possession early on in the first half, with most of the battle happening in the midfield. "We worked hard and controlled the midfield tonight," said Sophomore midfielder, Abby Gibson.

The second half was more of the same until the 68th minute, when Arkansas State swung the ball in from a corner, and won a penalty after the ball was knocked into the arm of a Central Arkansas defender. The Red Wolves' penalty kick was tucked away by Victoria MacIntosh. In the 79th minute, the Red Wolves doubled their lead after a mistake from the Central Arkansas defence led to an unassisted goal by Hailey Furio. The Bears would have most of the possession after the second goal, but could not capitalize.

"It's unfortunate to not get the result. I thought we had most of the possession and some better chances. I felt that we played okay, and when we don't have our best and still have a chance to win the game, it feels good," said a positive Coach Jeremy Bishop. "We are ready to keep rolling, getting on the road with a few games in Texas. Just glad to be playing and looking forward to the next one."

Central Arkansas plays again on Friday, September 18th at Texas State, set for a 6:00 PM kickoff.