CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas women's soccer team battled to a 2-2 draw against Jacksonville State Thursday night. Down 1-0 at the half, the Bears picked up the energy to earn a point in the ASUN standings.
 
The draw moves the Bears to 4-7-3 on the year, sitting now at 2-3-2 in ASUN play. In tying the Gamecocks, Central Arkansas moves into a tie for fourth in the conference standings, currently standing at eight points in the table.
 
Sydney Brough nearly got the scoring started straight out of the barrel, firing a point-blank shot in the second minute that the Gamecock keeper was barely able to keep out of the net. Jacksonville State countered, taking a few shots before the 11^th minute, but Lenja Kenstel easily kept them out of the net.
 
Dueling in the midfield, Jacksonville State finally broke through, developing a run that resulted in the first goal of the match. Alyssa Aultman almost evened the score in the 30^th minute, but a diving Gamecock keeper kept the Bears off the board. Central Arkansas would outshoot Jacksonville State 3-0 in the final 15 minutes of the half, but the Bears headed into the break down 1-0.
 
Bursting out of the gates with renewed focus, Central Arkansas struck gold on an equalizer just five minutes into the new half, as Nina Mazzola fought a ball through a defender to Anna Kerr, who put the finishing touch on her first goal of the season. Taylor Webb came inches away from giving the Bears the lead in the 56^th minute, putting one of her patented midfield, free kick shots on target, but into the gloves of the Gamecock keeper.
 
Jacksonville State earned a PK in the 68^th minute, punching it home to reclaim the lead. Central Arkansas wasted zero time responding in kind, as Brough tacked on the second equalizer of the match just 30 seconds later.
 
The teams fought tooth and nail down the stretch, each side trying to take the lead with a third goal. Abby Johnson almost pulled it off for the Bears, putting up a quality shot in the 74^th. Central Arkansas controlled possession in the attacking third for most of the final 15 minutes, but couldn't find a lead before the final buzzer. Abby Gibson nearly pulled it off with a one-on-one shot in the 84^th, but the Jacksonville State keeper made a great save to keep it out of the net.
 
Central Arkansas is back on the pitch on Sunday, playing again at home against Kennesaw State. Playing their Pink Out game, the Bears kick off against the Owls at 1 p.m.