CONWAY, Ark. – Despite a furious finish, the Central Arkansas men's soccer team couldn't complete the comeback in its season opener, falling 2-1 to SIUE on Thursday. After falling behind at half, the Bears made a push to equalize in the second half, but fell short after a late goal from the Cougars.
 
The Bears (0-1) saw a ton of new faces on the pitch, with six new starters and seven coming off the bench. And the new players performed admirably, notably starting keeper Connor Wachtel and midfielder Devonte Richards.
 
Central Arkansas came out in attack mode, taking early possession of the ball and moving into the attacking third. Though an early offsides call would halt the momentum, it was clear that the Bears, despite so many new players, could move the ball when necessary. SIUE took the first shot of the game in the 10^th minute, forcing an early save from Wachtel. The Cougars would keep possession on a pair of corner kicks before being awarded a penalty on a hand ball inside the box, which the Cougar shooter would convert.
 
Now playing from behind, the Bears continued to press forward, with Sohma Ichikawa nearly equalizing less than 30 seconds later. It seemed almost a sure thing that Central Arkansas would equalize before the break, with the way the ball was moving at times. Again near the 30^th minute, both Jerry Gutierrez and Lucas Shearer would have shots get blocked, keeping the Bears off the scoreboard. Andres Robles would get the last shot of the half off for Central Arkansas, but his attempt went wide left, sending the Bears into halftime down 1-0.
 
Ten minutes into the second half, Josh Baros let loose on a deep shot, forcing a save from the Cougar keeper. But it wouldn't be until after the 60^th minute that the Bears would finally see one through. A free kick from Gutierrez would fall to Richards, who zipped it through traffic to a waiting Pietro Fontana, who pushed it home for the first goal of the season.
 
Locked together at one score apiece, the intensity of the match ratcheted up even further, with the ball ping ponging around, back and forth, neither side able to take the lead. Richards and Ignacio Bellina both had shots with 15 minutes remaining, both coming up with nothing. With 13 minutes left, the Cougars were able to squeeze one in, reclaiming the lead with precious little time. But the Cougars were also desperate, desperate to avoid giving up any shots. And the Bears felt that, getting off just one more shot down the stretch, unable to equalize once again.
 
The Bears are on the road for the next one, traveling to Dallas, Texas to take on SMU. Game time on Monday is set for 7 p.m.