CONWAY, Ark. – After 80 minutes of high-intensity, albeit scoreless, soccer, the Central Arkansas women's soccer team broke through for a 1-0 win over Bellarmine, starting the three-game home stretch with a victory.
 
The Bears improved to 5-8-2 overall and 2-4-2 in ASUN matches, picking up a much-needed win in the standings. Sakiko Manabe scored the game-winner in the 83^rd minute, and the defense walled up late to secure a season sweep over the Knights.
 
Bellarmine came out swinging, getting a pair of dangerous shots in the first ten minutes, although Anna Kathryn Harrell and the defense repelled the early strikes. Down on the other end, Megan Moudy and Trace Pavatt put shots up, including one on target, but the match remained scoreless after the early back-and-forth.
 
As the first half continued, Bellarmine was content to lift shots in from distance, peppering Harrell with a few more looks while some trailed beyond the frame of the goal. And while it didn't result in a goal, it did force the Bears to continually build from the back, making it tough to counter into offense of their own. Manabe had her first good chance in the 40^th minute, but after the Bellarmine keeper made a save, the teams went to halftime without a goal.
 
The second half saw the Bears get out into space a little more often in the early parts of the final 45, getting a few more shots to pressure the Knight defense. Moudy put a shot on goal in the 53^rd on a free kick, but the Bellarmine keeper did a nice job handling it. Neither side garnered much offense in the middle of the half, but as the clock ticked past 70 minutes, Central Arkansas started gaining steam.
 
With some fresh legs in to give a few starters a rest before the final push, the bench brought the energy and continued to make things happen. Rylee Reisdorph and Kaylee Vorisek put shots in dangerous spots, and Jama Akpanudo's speed was a problem for the backline of the Knights.
 
Finally, with the starters back in, the Bears made their move. Pavatt forced a turnover in the offensive third, muscling her way through a defender for the ball. Driving from left to right along the endline, she forced the keeper to make a decision, and when the time was right, Pavatt dished it to Manabe, who drilled it home for the lead.
 
But now, the Knights were in desperation mode. Throwing numbers forward, the backline of Ava Ronsky, Rylee Ellis and Ashlyn May were tasked with keeping a dangerous Bellarmine squad from equalizing. And each time the Knights crashed into the Bear defense, the backline held, bending without breaking and forcing the ball back to midfield. In the flurry of activity, Bellarmine only got two more shots, neither of which were even on target, and the Bears were able to whittle the clock to zeros.
 
With two games left this season, the Bears continue to play at home, hosting EKU on Sunday at 1 p.m., before hosting North Alabama the following week for Senior Day.