CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas men's soccer team started the season in the right direction, defeating the Evangel Valor 3-0 on Thursday. The Bears debuted a host of new players, many of which contributed to the victory.
 
The Bears start the year 1-0 after a pair of goals from new faces, along with some additional firepower from some returners. And the scoring started early for Central Arkansas, as Devonte Richards played a beautiful ball just three minutes into the match, putting it right in front of Sohma Ichikawa for the opening score. Despite putting ten shots up during the first half, Ichikawa's goal would be the only score of the half for the Bears.
 
Evangel, meanwhile, struggled to generate much offense, missing out on some crosses and through balls that would have put the team in some offensive chances. But the defense of the Bears stood too tall, as Javier Ramirez was never put to the test.
 
As the teams rolled out similar lineups in the second half, the Bear offense finally broke through again in the 60^th minute, this time off the foot of Matheo Francou, who made his Purple and Gray debut on Thursday. The solo effort doubled the lead for the Bears, and allowed the team to relax and settle into the flow of the match.
 
Richards would send a ball through from the left side in the 74^th minute to cap the scoring, sending a cross in that Keiji Nakazawa punched in. It marked the first time since last year's match against Lipscomb that two Bears scored their first goals for Central Arkansas in the same match, which was also the last time three different players scored in a single match for Central Arkansas. The Bears cruised to the finish line without much trouble from there, allowing the final 16 minutes to tick away for the shutout.
 
The Bears flip the script on Sunday, playing their opening road game at Wake Forest, a preseason top-15 team according to United Soccer Coaches. Kickoff against the Demon Deacons is set for 6 p.m.