FORT MYERS, Fla. – Battling until the literal last second, the Central Arkansas women's soccer team wrapped up the 2022 season as semifinalists in the ASUN Championships, falling 3-2 to Florida Gulf Coast Sunday afternoon. It marks the first semifinal appearance for the Bears, who joined the ASUN prior to last season.
 
Anna Kerr and Tristyn Pavatt kept the Bears alive, each scoring a goal to equalize things in regulation. The loss drops Central Arkansas to a final record of 6-9-4.
 
Florida Gulf Coast got off to a quick start, tallying two shots on goal in the first five minutes, but goalkeeper Keyla Perez was on top of the early attempts. After weathering the early storm, the Bears settled down and worked the ball around, maintaining solid possession. Although neither team could create many meaningful runs, it generally favors the underdog when matches turn into a slugfest.
 
Tied 0-0 at the end of the first half, momentum started to shift in favor of the Eagles, as possession trended toward the defensive third for the Bears. Finally, the Eagles broke through on a corner kick, tallying the first goal of the match in the 56th. It marked the first time in the tournament that the Bears had trailed, having scored first in the quarterfinal against Lipscomb.
 
The lead was short-lived, however, as the Bears set off for an equalizer. Driving down the field, Taylor Lassiter flicked a ball forward to a sprinting Kerr, who fended off a Gulf Coast defender before finishing her second goal of the season in the 64^th minute.
 
With the score equal again, the teams continued to battle in the Florida heat, with both teams putting up solid shots. Emily Wissel-Littmann nearly gave Central Arkansas the lead in the 69^th, forcing a heroic save from the Eagles' keeper on a ball that was headed toward the upper right corner of the net. On the other end, Perez continued to make saves, fighting tooth and nail to keep FGCU from scoring again.
 
As time wound down, the Eagles continued to press as the match crossed the 80-minute mark. The match seemed destined for overtime, but then the Eagles capitalized on another corner kick, taking control of a cleared ball and sending it back past for a goal, reclaiming the lead with just over six minutes to play.
 
But the Bears didn't panic, working the ball around with a sense of purpose, understanding the task at hand. Anticipating a long ball, an Eagle defender and keeper miscommunicated on who would take possession, allowing the ball to go past them. Seizing the opportunity, Pavatt raced past and took the ball, clearing enough space to fire the ball into the right side of the net to tie the game again with 4:36 left in regulation.
 
Into overtime, the first extra period was relatively uneventful, with no meaningful offense from either side. As the second overtime progressed, FGCU reasserted itself into its attacking third, taking a Central Arkansas goal kick and driving it back down and scoring. This time, try as they might, the Bears couldn't equalize again, running out of time to send the match to PKs.

Central Arkansas sends its graduating class off with the school's first appearance in a conference tournament's semifinals.