CONWAY, Ark. – After a blitz out of the gates that created thoughts of a high-scoring affair, the Central Arkansas men's soccer team came away with a gutsy 1-0 win over the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles Thursday night.
 
The win improves the Bears to 3-1 overall, defeating a team in ORU that had beaten a pair of ranked teams already this season. Tajio James scored the game-winner early, and Javier Ramirez picked up his third shutout of the season, making six critical saves throughout the match.
 
And as has been the case the last few matches, the Bears got off to a quick start, driving up the field for an early corner kick in just the second minute. After not converting on the corner, Central Arkansas did a terrific job of locking the ball in the offensive half, taking possession back quickly. Charles-Emile Brunet spun a ball up top to James, who shook a defender and slotted the goal home. It marked the first goal of the season for James, making him the seventh Bear to score this season.
 
James nearly added a second goal just a few minutes later, but his shot cleared the crossbar. But the Barbadian's pressure up top gave the Golden Eagles fits all night, and really prevented ORU from building from the back without at least a little trouble from the speedster.
 
Oral Roberts' first shot on goal came in the 12^th minute, but Ramirez was right there to scoop it up. The junior from Spain has been electric to start the season, allowing even a single goal in just one match so far this season. Devonte Richards punched a shot on goal, but his was kept out. Overall, the Bears outshot the Golden Eagles 12-10, and kept offensive pressure turned up all night.
 
Despite scoring just the one goal, Central Arkansas felt in control for much of the game. Momentum shifted, however, midway through and late into the second half, as the Golden Eagles became more desperate to level the score. The Bears had a flurry of shots over a two minute stretch in the 65^th, but again couldn't get past the ORU keeper.
 
As time wound down, ORU controlled possession in its offensive half, taking late shots in the 86^th and 87^th minutes, but Ramirez again shut down the Golden Eagles. Oral Roberts also had five corner kicks in the second half, but the Bear defense buckled down for their third clean sheet of the season.
 
The Bears will stay home for the next one, playing Missouri State next Tuesday. Kickoff time against the other Bears is set for 7 p.m.