MONROE, La. – Battling back from behind in both halves, the Central Arkansas women's soccer team picked up its first win of the season with a thrilling 3-2 win over Louisiana-Monroe on Sunday.
 
Freshman Sophia Backstrom tallied her second goal of the season, one of three Bears to log a goal against the Warhawks. Kelly Van Gundy and Lea Duus Madsen were also in on the scoring for Central Arkansas.
 
The teams traded shots in the first ten minutes, with ULM's going off the woodwork and Van Gundy's being saved by the Warhawk keeper. It wouldn't take long for ULM to respond with its second shot of the match, which slipped into the goal for the first score of the game in the 19^th minute.
 
But like they always have this season, the Bears fought back, trying to find an equalizer. Megan Moudy, Anna Kerr and Duus Madsen all took shots before the 30-minute mark, but none of them found the back of the net. Finally, as time was ticking down in the first half, Van Gundy pounced on a loose ball at the top of the 18-yard box and stuck it in, equalizing the match before halftime.
 
Any momentum that the Bears took with them into halftime vanished quickly, as the Warhawks came out and scored in the 48^th, reclaiming the lead. This time, however, it only took Central Arkansas a few minutes to answer, as Backstrom hit one with the side of her foot after a pass from Kerr in the 55^th.
 
Just ten minutes later, the Bears would draw a foul inside the box, earning a PK. Duus Madsen took the try, and buried it into the back of the net to give the Bears the lead. ULM became desperate to either close the gap, or at least keep Central Arkansas from adding to the lead, and earned a red card in the 75^th minute to go down a player. With just ten on the field for the rest of the match, the Warhawks mustered a couple of shots down the stretch, but it was nothing that Kajsa Pruner couldn't handle.
 
The Bears host Queens in their ASUN conference opener for their next match, scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday.