FORT MYERS, Fla. – Underdogs in every sense of the word, the Central Arkansas women's soccer team pulled off a massive upset Thursday evening, taking down the defending ASUN champion Lipscomb Bisons on penalty kicks in the quarterfinal round of the ASUN Championships. Nothing short of a dramatic finish, it marks the first win in the ASUN tournament for the Bears, who move onto the semifinals on Sunday.
Taylor Lassiter scored the lone goal in regulation for Central Arkansas, giving Central Arkansas an opportunity to take the match to extras and PKs. It marked the fifth goal of the year for the senior, and her fourth in the last six matches.
Keyla Perez stepped up on the biggest stage of her career, making a career-best 12 saves before coming up clutch on the PK stage.
The Bears shot out of the gate, undeterred at the prospect of facing a Lipscomb team that had allowed just four goals in ASUN play.
Amanda Walsh put the first shot of the match on goal for the Bears, forcing a save from Lipscomb's keeper. Just a couple of minutes later in the sixth, Lassiter opted for the high ball, lofting one over the outstretched arms of the Bisons and dropping a graceful teardrop into the net.
Regaining their feet, the Bisons set off looking for an equalizer, taking six shots in the next 15 minutes, but the backline of the Bears held firm. Lipscomb continued to pound forward with aggression, but waves of attack crashed against the Central Arkansas defense like water on rock.
For 30 minutes, the defense held strong, battling the league's second-best offense to a standstill before finally giving up an equalizer in the 34
th. The score would hold through the halftime whistle, with the Bisons outshooting the Bears 13-4 through the first 45 minutes.
Despite playing a competitive first half, the momentum swung in the direction of Lipscomb in the second half, as the reigning ASUN champs settled in on the defensive third of Central Arkansas. Every time the Bears would repel an attack, Lipscomb would settle the ball and drive it right back down. And yet, each time Lipscomb did so, the Bears sent it back out. The teams continued this cat and mouse game for the entirety of the second half, as Perez and the defense refused to break under the pressure of Lipscomb.
As time wound down, both teams had to mentally come to terms with a situation that neither side had to face in the regular season: overtime. With new NCAA rules limiting overtime to postseason play, both sides had to dig deep into the energy reserves for 20 more minutes of action.
The overtime periods mirrored the second half, Lipscomb controlled possession for a majority of the time, while the Central Arkansas defense stared the Bisons down and dared them to enter the teeth of the Bear. As the second overtime ticked away, the prospect of penalty kicks began to come to fruition. Despite being outshot 42-5, Central Arkansas wiped the slate clean, putting the entire match on the shoulders and at the feet of potentially just ten more shots.
Opting to shoot first and put the pressure on the Bisons, fifth-year defender
Taylor Webb stepped up and laced the first PK into the net, which the Bisons matched. Lipscomb took a 2-1 lead after stopping Central Arkansas' second shot, shifting the pressure back to the Bears.
Perez then came up with a massive save on the third PK, evening the score again after
Kelly Van Gundy sunk hers into the lower corner. Both teams' fourth and fifth shooters converted, meaning the teams would keep shooting until there was a winner.
After the fifth, Perez stopped three-consecutive shots, two of them absolute do-or-die situations, before icing the upset by stopping the third. As the junior started sprinting back toward the bench, she was mobbed by teammates in triumph at the top of the box, basking in the glory of the match-clinching save.
Central Arkansas will continue onto the semifinal round of the ASUN Championship, taking on the winner of FGCU and North Florida on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CT to decide which team will compete for an ASUN title next weekend.
