SAN ANTONIO, Texas -  2023 did not start the way the Central Arkansas women's soccer team wanted to, as the Bears fell 5-1 to start the year. Kelly Van Gundy punched home the lone goal for the Bears, but it just wasn't enough to take down the defending C-USA champs.
 
It didn't take long for the Roadrunners to jump out to a lead, scoring ten minutes into the match, and the Bears struggled to generate a counterattack. With the ball staying on the Central Arkansas defensive half, UTSA scored again in the 18^th.
 
The Bears continued to have a tough tome finding offense, with possession largely in favor of the Roadrunner offense. Try as they might, the Bears couldn't break through the defense of the American Athletic Conference's newest member. On the other side, UTSA was able to beat the clock going into the halftime break, scoring again with seconds on the clock.
 
Desperate to find some offense, the Bears regrouped at half and started making pushes up the field, drawing some fouls on the Roadrunners to earn some set pieces to advance the ball. Fifteen minutes into the second half, this resulted in Anna Kerr drawing a foul inside the 18-yard box, setting up a penalty. Van Gundy, the junior midfielder who buried her PK in the ASUN Championship shootout last season, strode into the box to take this one. Staring the keeper down, the Flower Mound, Texas native sunk it, putting the first goal on the board on the season and breathing some life back into the Bears.
 
But the feeling of hope didn't last very long, as UTSA countered with a goal ten minutes later, then finished off with a fifth and final goal in the 85^th minute. Central Arkansas looks ahead now to Sunday, staying in the Lone Star State to take on Texas State at 1 p.m.