TULSA, Okla. - The Central Arkansas Bears put five goals past the Golden Eagles of ORU on Friday night, scoring two goals in the first half before running away with the match in the second half.

Head Coach Jeremy Bishop's side came into the match with a lighter roster than normal, but expected nothing less than what was delivered. Continuing in the 4-5-1 formation Bishop has used in the past, the Bears bettered their opponent in every way throughout the match.

FIRST HALF - FAST FEET AND DOMINANT PLAY

It was not the quickest start by the Bears, but once the ball got rolling, there was no stopping it. Neither team could get anything going in the first 10 minutes. The match soon had life when Abby Gibson fired a shot just high of the goal in the 14th minute. A minute later, Emily Wissel-Littmann, who was starting her fourth match as a Bear, sent a low driven shot to goal, but it was saved.

The Bears got on the scoresheet when Zoe Van de Cloot hit a low driven ball into the bottom right corner from a Sydney Brough cross in the 22nd minute. Just a minute later, Emma Hawkins scored an unassisted goal after beating two defenders to find the back of the net to double the lead.

Brooke Franklin and Alyssa Fason both narrowly missed chances late into the half, both were looking for their first in UCA colors.

SECOND HALF - COMPOSURE AND WONDERFUL FINISHING

ORU would be the quickest out of the gate in the second half, when the Golden Eagles scored in the 52nd minute to make it 2-1. The Bears responded just six minutes later when Laurel Landry scored on a first time strike from just outside the 18-yard box after Morgan Rollow laid the ball back to her feet off a corner.

ORU grabbed their second goal of the match after a half-volley from 24 yards out found its way over Reagan McCombs' head. McCombs held her ground after, making a wonderful save to her right just a few seconds after the ensuing kick off. The Bears struck back to double their advantage when Alyssa Fason finished a rebound from a Hawkins shot in the 75th minute, her first UCA career goal. 

The Bears would have many chances following the fourth goal, but the fifth came in the 80th minute when Taylor Lassiter scored her first for the Bears. Lassiter hit a low driven ball into the bottom corner off a pass from Sydney Brough.

HEAR FROM THE COACH

"The effort by the team was great tonight. We came in with a lighter than normal roster. So we had to do a few things differently than we would have liked, but the team executed well on both ends of the field and scored some really nice goals," said Coach Jeremy Bishop.

HEAR FROM THE PLAYERS

"This game showed how hard we have been working to make plays work in the attacking half and it felt really nice for multiple players on the team to be able to find the back of the net," Emma Hawkins, the team's leading goal scorer, said.

"We worked really hard as a team, even with having three seniors out. We have worked really hard in the offseason and it felt really good to put the ball in the back of the net. We played 90 minutes strong and I hope we continue to win throughout the season," said Laurel Landry, who scored her first goal for UCA and added an assist.


The Bears return to the pitch on Friday, Feb. 12 at SFA in Nacogdoches, Texas. The match is set for a 5 p.m. kickoff.