CONWAY, Ark. – After being tied at half, the Central Arkansas men's soccer team dominated the final 45 minutes, cruising away to a 5-2 win over Lipscomb Saturday night. Five goals marked the most in a game this season for the Bears, and the four second half goals were the most since November of last season.
 
The Bears (3-6-2, 2-0-1 ASUN) grabbed an important home win in ASUN play, staying atop the ASUN Gold Division with just three games left. After a slow first half for both teams, the Bears were the ones that got the second half turned into a track meet, and the Bisons just couldn't keep up.
 
Both sides came out looking to jump out quickly, but defenses were ready, and the first shot of the game didn't even occur until nearly 25 minutes into the match. Lipscomb, a team that has struggled to score and has relied heavily on defense as of late, were able to keep the Bears at bay with an offsides trap that worked several times in the early chunk of the first half. This held Central Arkansas from making runs and getting deep into enemy territory.
 
Lipscomb was able to parlay this effort into the first goal of the night, taking a lead in the 34^th minute. But the lead was short-lived, as the Bears hit right back with a goal from Michael Oliveri, who hit the back of the net on a sweet dish from Noa Bamballi just 106 seconds later. A few minutes later, with just a few minutes left in the half, Vaclav Kozeny gave the Lipscomb keeper something to think about, but after making the save, the sides would go into the break tied at 1-1.
 
The second half started without much offense, similar to the first. Though the sides had a few more shots early, neither side really threatened too much. Then, in the 67^th minute, Maxim Sheenkov entered the match for the first time in the second half, and made an immediate impact. On a pair of perfect passes from Lucas Shearer and Kozeny, Sheenkov slotted the ball home to give the Bears a 2-1 lead. Five minutes later, Shearer punched the ball forward for a sprinting Devonte Richards, who found an opening past the keeper and doubled the lead for Central Arkansas.
 
But the Bears weren't done. Less than a minute later, Kozeny found Pietro Fontana in the box, and the senior forward tucked it into the net, taking the game from a tied score to a three-goal difference in six minutes. Central Arkansas added its final score with less than ten minutes to go, on another breakaway goal, this time, a pair of passes from Fontana and Matheo Francou finding Sheenkov for his second goal of the night.
 
Though Lipscomb added a goal in the final minute, it was a meaningless addition, and the Bears ran out the clock to end the match. Saturday's win gave Central Arkansas back-to-back wins over the Bisons, both taking place in Conway.
 
The Bears step out of non-conference for the next one, heading down to Dallas, Texas to face perennial powerhouse SMU on Tuesday.