Conway, Ark. - The Central Arkansas Men's Soccer Team defeated Bellarmine 2-0 on Saturday, September 25 in their ASUN home opener.

FIRST HALF - ROCKET SHOTS

The Bears started the first half very quickly when Vicent Abaso fired an early shot toward goal which was saved by the Knight's goalkeeper. Abaso finally got the better of the Bellarmine defense in the 28th minute with just the second shot on target of the match. Edoardo Merci played the ball right into the feet of Abaso who struck the ball which beat the out-stretched arm of the goalkeeper.

Bellarmine had zero shots on target in the first half.

SECOND HALF - POSSESSION AND KEEPING THE MOMENTUM

Just five minutes into the second half, Jonathan Randall and Sohma Ichikawa both had close chances pushed away by the goalkeeper. The Bears doubled their lead through Karim Diao who hit a right-footed strike from distance into the top right corner in the 58th minute.

Zach Schawl made multiple saves later in the match to keep the clean sheet for the fifth time this season.

HEAR FROM THE COACH

"The polls before the season don't mean much and we were new to the conference so no one knew us. The thing is, we are getting better and raising our level. We have to keep it going in training and in matches. It feels good to get a win at home and having multiple guys be influential," said Head Coach Frank Kohlenstein.

HEAR FROM THE PLAYERS

"We wanted to set a tone at home in our ASUN opener. We showed that we can control the game and play a full game. Once we figure out our passing we are hard to stop. I am so happy to have two goals in two games in conference," said Vicent Abaso on the victory.

The Bears travel to Fort Myers, Florida to take on FGCU in ASUN Conference play on Saturday, October 2, with kickoff set for 6 PM CT.