CONWAY, Ark. – On the road for the first road match of the ASUN slate, the men's soccer team is back in action against Bellarmine on Saturday. Kicking off at 6 p.m., in Louisville, Ky., the Bears take a two-match winning streak into the weekend.
 
Central Arkansas heads east with a 1-0 record in ASUN play, gearing up for the first outing on the road in league play. Defeating North Florida in its last outing, the Bears defended its home field with a 2-0 win over the Ospreys. Sebastian Andreassen put the Bears up in the 15^th minute, providing what would ultimately be the game-winner on a chip over the keeper.
 
Mathias Bendiksen put the game out of reach in the 74^th minute, converting on a PK and planting his shot past the goalie. The scores were the second for Andreassen and the first of the year for Bendiksen. Goalkeeper Zach Schawl picked up his first shutout of the year, only having to make one save against the Ospreys.
 
With the two goals against North Florida, seven Bears have found the back of the net this year, with Andreassen's two goals leading the team. The balanced offense has allowed head coach Frank Kohlenstein and staff to have a certain amount of comfort going to the bench, confident that the skill level on both sides of the ball doesn't suffer too much of a drop off. Three of the team's eight goals this season have come off the bench.
 
Bellarmine hosts the Bears with the same record, a 2-2-1 count through five matches, although the Knights lost their conference opener, falling 2-0 at Liberty last Saturday. Holding out for more than 80 minutes in a scoreless match, Bellarmine finally succumbed to a pair of goals in the final minutes of the match to fall to the Flames.
 
The Knights' two wins on the season came in back-to-back fashion, opening September with a couple of 2-1 wins, first winning at Northern Kentucky before defeating Chicago State at home. Redshirt junior Nolan McGrath opened the scoring for Bellarmine in both of those games, and leads the team with three scores on the year.
 
Much like the Bears' Zach Schawl, Bellarmine has played just one keeper this season, putting all of their trust between the pipes in Matthew Brozovich. So far through five matches, Brozovich has allowed nine goals, making 18 saves en route to a 2-2-1 record in goal.
 
Bellarmine has only known one head coach over the last quarter century, with Tim Chastonay patrolling the sidelines since the Division II days for the Knights. Over his career, he has won over 200 games, posting a 16-1-5 record in Bellarmine's final season in D-II. The 2022-23 season is the third season at the Division I level for the Knights.
 
Kickoff against the Knights is slated for 6 p.m. in Louisville. Saturday's match will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats available here.