DELAND, Fla. – A back-and-forth affair in the ASUN Championship Quarterfinal saw the Central Arkansas men's soccer team take a 3-2 win over Queens Saturday night. The Bears advance to the ASUN Semifinals, where they will face off with Stetson on Monday.
 
The Bears improved to 7-7-2 with the win, and advance to a fourth-straight ASUN Semifinal. Tajio James was the hero in game one, scoring a brace to give the Bears a win, after Pietro Fontana's opening score.
 
But the match wasn't all the Bears' way, as Queens started the game dominating possession. A defensive-minded team, the Royals specialize in controlling possession until they can find a crease to take advantage of, and early on, that's exactly what they did. It eventually resulted in a 22^nd minute goal for Queens, who beat Central Arkansas in the regular season matchup.
 
Central Arkansas made some adjustments to the lineup, namely, inserting James and Charles Brunet, who provided instant energy and focus on the offensive side of the ball. With those two in the game, the Bears were better able to dispossess the Royals and move the ball up the field, with both players spectacular dribblers and passers.

As time wound down in the first half, Central Arkansas earned a corner kick after pressing high up the field. Pharis Petrica lined it up and hit it to a waiting Sohma Ichikawa, who flicked it on and redirected the ball's original trajectory. It made its way to Fontana, who punched  it into the left corner to equalize with less than 90 seconds in the half.
 
The second half was similar to the first, with possession hovering around the Central Arkansas defensive third for the first chunk of time. But once more, the deployment of James into the lineup sparked a turnaround, and just 12 minutes after taking the pitch again, the Barbadian scored his first goal of the day, cleaning up a ball in a dangerous spot to give the bears the lead.
 
Queens answered almost immediately, driving down the field and scoring on another corner kick, tying the game again. Less than a minute later, James scored he final goal of the match on his own, dribbling into the box, beating his man and slipping the ball across the face of the goal and past the keeper.
 
The Bears held on for the win, advancing to the ASUN Semifinal against Stetson on Monday.