DELAND, Fla. – Another year in the ASUN, another Championship appearance for the Bears. Monday night saw the Central Arkansas men's soccer team dominate the No. 1 seed Stetson and cruise to a 3-0 win.
 
The Bears improved to 8-7-2 on the year, and the team got production from all over the place. Charles Brunet, Devonte Richards and Tajio James scored goals, Edgar Correia and Elijah Bishop kept the Hatters from getting many good looks, and Javier Ramirez shut down the few opportunities from the ASUN's regular season champs.
 
Monday's match started slowly, as each team tried to pry and pick at their opponents to try and find a weakness. With the teams tying in the last meeting a month ago, neither side entered the game with much advantage from the previous matchup. Richards tried an early shot from distance, but the Stetson keeper stayed in front of it. The Barbadian's shot was really the only threat by either side until late in the first half.
 
Stetson had a shot from a deep angle after a nice drive, but Ramriez was able to parry it and clear the opportunity. Then, right before half, Central Arkansas found a chance. James drove deep into the box, and as the defense collapsed to him, he laid the ball off for a sprinting Brunet, who sidestepped one defender and let loose into the upper netting of the goal. His 45^th-minute score sent the Bears into the break with all the momentum.
 
After halftime, the Bears put in some substitutions to help stave off some of the fatigue to the starters, having played just two days before. The bench mob did their jobs wonderfully, repelling Stetson attacks and letting some clock burn to give some starters a break before coming back in to close the game.
 
And the strategy worked beautifully; Fontana and Richards came back in in the 61^st minute, and immediately went to work. Similar to the first goal against North Florida a week ago, Fontana played a long ball forward for Richards, who outsprinted the defense to get himself a clean shot, which he powered home to stretch the lead in the 68^th.
 
Richards swapped with James after the goal, and James did not let off the gas pedal whatsoever. Driving down the pitch again, the senior did it on his own, powering home his fourth goal in three games to put the match out of reach. From there, it was the defense and Ramirez's job to keep the clean sheet, which required two saves and a bend-without-break mentality as the clock ticked away.
 
Monday's win solidified the third ASUN Championship Final appearance in four years for the Bears, who will face off with North Florida on Saturday. The Bears most recently played North Florida in the regular season finale, defeating the Ospreys 6-2 in Jacksonville.