DELAND, Fla. – It was a tale of two halves for the Central Arkansas men's soccer team, who drew against the Stetson Hatters on Saturday. After a tough first half, the Bears recovered nicely in the second to equalize late to claim a point in the ASUN standings.
The Bears move to 5-6-2 on the year, now 2-2-1 in ASUN matches.
Tajio James logged the goal for Central Arkansas, his third of the season.
Javier Ramirez made four saves, lowering his goals against average to 1.15 on the season.
Stetson got a corner kick and a shot on goal early in the match, trying to burst out of the gates against the visiting Bears, but Ramirez shut it down.
Andres Robles responded with the first shot on target for Central Arkansas in the 26th minute, but his shot also came up empty. Stetson continued to press, controlling possession in the midfield until finally, late in the first half, the Hatters found a score in the 42
nd.
Not going down quietly, the Bears came to life in the second half, starting the final 45 with three corner kicks in the first five minutes. Though none of them came to fruition, it marked a stark change in momentum that would carry for quite some time.
Through the bulk of the second half, it was the European tandem of
Pharis Petrica and
Pietro Fontana who led the charge, putting a combined five shots on goal, four of which came from Petrica. As shots thundered into the Stetson keeper, it felt as though the Hatters would eventually cave to something.
Finally, James would line one up and slot it home in the 78
th minute, tying the game with just over ten minutes left. Ramirez made a terrific, game-saving deflection with under four minutes to go, and Central Arkansas would set to work to find a potential game-winner. With under a minute, Central Arkansas earned two corner kicks, one of which the team actually got off in time, but couldn't find a shot to try to steal the win.
Up next, the Bears host Florida Gulf Coast on Friday for Senior Day. Kickoff against the Eagles is set for 6 p.m. at the Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex.
