CONWAY, Ark. – Inching closer and closer to clinching a spot in the ASUN Tournament, the Central Arkansas men's soccer team preps to take on Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday. Kicking off at 7 p.m., the Bears look to add to a two-game unbeaten streak.
 
The Bears (5-4-2, 4-1 ASUN) pick back up after a shocking 4-3 win over Queens last Saturday, coming back from a 3-1 deficit in the last seven minutes. Freshman Pietro Fontana, playing in just his sixth game this season, cut the lead to one with under seven minutes to play, then scored the game winner in the 88^th minute.
 
Fontana marks the tenth Bear to find the back of the net this season, and the seventh to record multiple goals this year. The Trento, Italy native's game also goes down as the first multi-goal game by a Bear this season, with Fontana's coming in just 15 minutes of play.
 
Central Arkansas and Florida Gulf Coast have played once before, playing as conference opponents last season. Taking a 2-1 win, Karim Diao scored the game's opening goal in the 25^th minute, before capping the win in overtime, finishing the game-winner in the 98^th.
 
The Bears are in the driver's seat as the conference season nears a close. Currently in a tie for first place with Lipscomb at 12 points, Central Arkansas can clinch a spot in the conference tournament with a win on Saturday. With three games left in conference play, the Bears will fight for a hosting seed, the one- or the two-seed before the end of the regular season. Last year, Central Arkansas hosted the first two rounds after clinching the two-seed.
 
The Eagles (4-2-3, 1-1-2 ASUN) have not been the most exciting team in college soccer, having only nine goals scored this season, while allowing just six. The low-scoring style makes every goal count for that much more, as FCGU has seen. All but one of the team's matches have been decided by one or fewer goals, and the Eagles have only scored multiple goals in a game three times this year, all wins.
 
Most recently, Florida Gulf Coast played a 90-minute scoreless match against North Florida, the third tie of the year for the Eagles. In a game that saw 10 cards shown, the Eagles outshot the Ospreys 15-3, but couldn't find the back of the net, even on a pair of shots in the final two minutes.
 
Unlike the Bears, who have ten goal scorers, FGCU has just five, with three players with multiple goals on the year. Davi Alves, a senior midfielder, leads the team with three goals.
 
What Florida Gulf Coast relies on, however, is a stout defense. Allowing just eight shots per game from opponents, the Eagles have managed to keep opponents off the board simply by not allowing shots at all. With the defensive pressure, goalkeeper Wyatt Kistner has only had to face 77 shots through nine games.
 
Game time against the Eagles is set for 7 p.m. at the Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex. The match will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats available here.