DELAND, Fla. – A battle of conference unbeatens was competitive for 88 minutes before the Central Arkansas men's soccer team pulled away in the closing minutes, taking down Stetson 3-1 Saturday night.
 
Moving to 4-3-1 on the year and now 3-0 in ASUN play, the Bears were stuck in a deadlock for 53 minutes before opening the scoring. Knocking off Stetson, Central Arkansas remains one of two teams left in the conference to remain unbeaten, with Lipscomb being the other at the final whistle of the Bears' match.
 
The first half was every bit the defensive battle the match promised, as neither Stetson nor Central Arkansas had allowed a goal in conference play yet. Karim Diao took the first shot of the game in the third minute, but the Stetson goalkeeper was all over it, recording the first of seven saves on the night. On the counter, the Bears forced a tough shot from the Hatters' Allesandro Gabbani, responding in kind with defensive pressure to make offense tough to generate.
 
Tough defensive play would define the first half. Though the teams would combine for 15 shots, with eight on goal, both defenses would stand tall, waiting for the other to break first. Through 45 minutes, neither looked like they would crack at all.
 
As the second half started, it seemed as though that trend would continue; neither side recorded a shot in the first eight minutes of the second period.
 
But finally, Central Arkansas caught a break, as the Hatters committed a foul in the offensive third, setting up an opportunity for the Bears. Lining up to launch one in, Daniel Shabani floated a ball into the 18-yard box, where a waiting Richy Lapointe-Guevara planted it into the back of the net for the game's first goal.
 
Stetson, unphased, came right back down the field and equalized three minutes later, confirming the age-old adage that the best time to equalize is straight away after giving one up.
 
After both teams scored, the defenses locked back down, determined to not be the first to give up a second goal. For 20 minutes, the teams went back and forth, daring the other to make the key mistake that would change everything.
 
Eventually, it was the Hatters that slipped. Turning the ball over near midfield, Jerry Gutierrez popped it forward to Sebastian Andreassen, who used his 6-foot 5-inch frame to shield the ball from the defender, playing a give-and-go with Gutierrez, who then sent a perfect ball past the keeper, putting the Bears back on top in the 79^th minute.
 
The second goal forced Stetson to go into desperation mode, seeing as there were slightly more than 10 minutes remaining in the match. Sending everything forward, the Hatters forced the issue, which the defense handled with ease.
 
Playing only two defenders back for an equalizer, Stetson was running out of time to even take one point out of the match. Taking advantage of that, Bradyn Knutson cleared a ball that gave Andreassen a chance to take it forward with the thin back line. Doing just that, the Norwegian beat both defenders and the keeper, hammering home the final nail in the coffin in the 88^th minute.
 
The Bears return with a perfect conference record, facing off against the team that took home last season's ASUN Tournament win, the Lipscomb Bisons. Kickoff is set for next Saturday at noon.