CONWAY, Ark. – Playing a Florida Gulf Coast team that has made a living taking draws in the ASUN this season, the Central Arkansas men's soccer team played the Eagles to a 2-2 draw Sunday night.
 
The tie prevented the Bears (5-4-3, 4-1-1 ASUN) from clinching a spot in the ASUN Championship, but a point in the standings is never a bad consolation prize. After a relatively calm first half, things got chippy in the second, leading to seven yellow cards in just the final 45 minutes, while each team scored once in the final frame.
 
Florida Gulf Coast opened the scoring with a penalty kick in the 21^st minute after a quiet opening to the match, with Eagle Davi Alves punching home the game's opening goal. Just 11 seconds later, after the ensuing kickoff, an Eagle was sent off with a straight red card to drop FGCU to ten men on the pitch.
 
The Bears would parley that into a momentum shift, with shots on goal from Bernard Assibey-Rhule and Alex Kiss, but the Eagle keeper kept his clean sheet through the 30-minute mark. Rhule would put a stop to that in the 33^rd minute, equalizing the game on a deflected clearance from the keeper. The 1-1 score stayed true through the final whistle of the first half, with the match as even on paper as the score suggested.
 
As the second half progressed, the match became more physical, but was largely lacking in true offensive opportunities through the early goings. Sebastian Andreassen cranked up the fun in the 72^nd, taking a beautiful feed from Mathias Bendiksen and heading it into the net. The goal marked the fourth for the Norwegian, while Bendiksen was credited with an assist for the third-straight match.
 
The 2-1 lead stayed true for about ten minutes, before FGCU equalized in the 81^st on a free kick from inches outside the 18-yard box. With both teams desperate to retake the lead, the last nine minutes of the match would take more than 20 minutes in real time. Karim Diao nearly gave the lead back to the Bears in the 85^th minute, but the FGCU keeper got enough to keep it out of the net. Diao's shot would be the final look of the game that made it on target, as the teams had to settle for a draw.
 
Central Arkansas has three games left on the schedule, with the next one on Friday at Liberty. Kickoff against the Flames is set for 5 p.m. CT.