CONWAY, Ark. – Postseason soccer has officially arrived, as the Central Arkansas women's soccer team prepares for its quarterfinal match against Kennesaw State on Friday. Match time against the Owls is slated for 3 p.m. CT in Fort Myers, Fla.
 
Last time the teams faced each other, it was a high-scoring affair that went into overtime. Despite opening the scoring in both halves, the Bears were unable to hang on for the win, allowing a goal in overtime to drop the contest. Sydney Brough, Taylor Webb and Amanda Walsh all scored goals in the 3-4 loss.
 
Friday marks the first ASUN Tournament appearance for UCA, after joining the league this past summer. The Bears clinched the second seed in the ASUN West after a 4-1 finish in division play, setting the stage to compete at the one-seed from the East's homefield, Florida Gulf Coast.
 
Central Arkansas enters the match having received a pair of All-Conference First Team bids in Gracie Hair and Emma Hawkins, as well as an All-Freshmen winner in Adley Barham.  Hair led a defense that shutout seven opponents. Hawkins earned her spot after leading the ASUN in goals (13), assists (7) and points (33). Hawkins approaches a number of single-season and career milestones and has already tied the UCA single-season record for points this year. Barham proved to be an effective defender in her first year of collegiate soccer, helping the back line keep clean sheets against five ASUN opponents.
 
Not only is this a new league for the Bears, but many of the faces on this squad haven't seen postseason soccer as a member of UCA. This marks the first conference tournament for the team since 2018, when Central Arkansas won the Southland regular season title. Only six of the 26 team members were a part of that squad that reached the Southland semifinals.
 
Kennesaw State arrived in Fort Myers after falling in its regular season finale against Liberty, finishing the regular season at 7-7-2, with a 4-3-2 record in conference. The 2-3 final score meant that Liberty leapfrogged Kennesaw in the standings, knocking the Owls to third place in the ASUN East, setting up the match against the Bears.
 
Ebony Clarke led the Owls in scoring during the regular season, netting five goals and logging an assist. Clarke tallied a pair of braces during the season, scoring twice against North Alabama and then again in the regular season match against the Bears. Kennesaw had six multi-goal scorers and five players dish out multiple assists.  
 
Between the pipes, Kennesaw relied mostly on Dylan Pixton, who allowed 1.49 goals per game, making 83 saves during her 16 matches.