CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas women's soccer team gears up for its final home stand of the season, facing North Florida on Thursday. Battling to stay unbeaten in the ASUN, the Bears kick off against the Ospreys at 7 p.m.
The Bears (6-5-1, 5-0-1 ASUN) extended their unbeaten streak to seven-straight matches after earning a 4-2 win over Bellarmine on Sunday. The win was highlighted by a hat trick from
Caroline Billings, who notched the first three-goal game by a Central Arkansas player since 2021. The Colorado native scored the first goal of the day in the seventh minute, then capped the afternoon with the final goal with just over 30 seconds to go.
With the outburst, Billings moved into second-place on the team with four goals. She and
Sophia Backstrom are tied at four, just a single score behind
Kelly Van Gundy's five. Billings and Van Gundy each have four in league games, and are two of the four players in the ASUN with four or more goals in ASUN games.
The Bears have faced off with North Florida twice in program history, both since joining the ASUN. Central Arkansas has claimed both of those matches, which included a 2-1 win over the Ospreys last season. In a match that saw the Bears get outshot 18-6, Van Gundy buried a pair of goals to give Central Arkansas the win.
Central Arkansas sits atop the ASUN standings with 16 points with five games left, the only unbeaten team remaining. North Florida is currently in sixth with nine points.
North Florida (5-3-6, 2-1-3 ASUN) has stayed unbeaten for a few weeks, having not lost in five matches. After dropping their ASUN opener to FGCU, the Ospreys won games against Stetson and West Georgia before their current stretch of three-straight 1-1 draws. Last time out, the Ospreys gutted out a draw against Lipscomb, scoring in the 17
th minute before an 82
nd minute by the Bisons tied things up. North Florida was outshot 25-2, and only had one shot on goal, but sometimes, that's all it takes.
Paige McSwigan leads the team with six goals this year, one of just two multi-goal scorers. Bella Pontieri has three goals to her name, and the duo has combined for six goals in ASUN matches. In goal, Sofia Miliancano holds the bulk of the playing time, allowing 16 goals in 14 matches for a 1.33 goals against average.
Kickoff against the Ospreys is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday. The match will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats available online. As always, admission to Central Arkansas soccer is free.
