DALLAS, Texas – Tuesday night saw the Central Arkansas men's soccer team go toe-to-toe with the No. 10/15 SMU Mustangs, falling 1-0 on the road. Central Arkansas had chances late, but couldn't come up with an equalizer.
 
The Bears (5-6-1) got blitzed out of the gates, allowing a goal to the nationally ranked Mustangs in the sixth minute. And SMU continued to control possession for the next several minutes, taking all of the momentum. But little by little, the Bears worked the ball around and forward, resulting in a Sohma Ichikawa shot in the 16^th that at least showed that Central Arkansas was going to have life.
 
A couple of forward passes slipped through for SMU goal kicks, but the Bears continued to wheel and deal, trying to find a spark. After nearly 40 minutes of back-and-forth, Devonte Richards finally put his foot on a shot that forced a save from the Mustang keeper, representing the best shot attempt so far for the Bears. Charles Brunet let one loose just before half, but missed everything, sending the Bears to halftime trailing by just a single goal. Central Arkansas outshot the Mustangs 5-3 in the first half, but couldn't find a way to score.
 
In the second half, Central Arkansas went right at the home team, turning a goal kick to a shot on goal from Andres Robles just a few minutes into the half. SMU would turn momentum back in its favor midway through the half, taking a flurry of shots through the 60 minute mark and beyond. But Javier Ramirez and the defense would hold firm, with Ramirez making six saves in the second half.
 
Once the game got in the final ten minutes, Central Arkansas controlled the ball, putting an enormous amount of pressure on the Mustangs. Richards, in particular, had some great looks that almost equalized the match, but SMU was able to keep the clean sheet through the final whistle, despite Tajio James' shot on goal in the last seconds.
 
Central Arkansas turns back to ASUN play for the next one, heading down to DeLand, Florida for a meeting with Stetson. Kickoff against the Hatters is set for Friday at 6 p.m. CT.