CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas women's soccer team gears up for one of its final matches of the regular season, taking on Eastern Kentucky on Sunday. With postseason implications, kickoff against the Colonels is set for 1 p.m. at the Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex.
The Bears (5-8-2, 2-4-2 ASUN) got a massive result on Thursday, defeating Bellarmine 1-0 at home. The win, which came off of an 83rd-minute goal from
Sakiko Manabe, put the Bears in front of the Knights in the ASUN standings, and locked up the tiebreaker, should it come to that. Manabe's goal was perfectly placed, after
Trace Pavatt forced a turnover in enemy territory and found her teammate waiting in front of the net.
Central Arkansas last played EKU on September 26
th, and finished with a 1-0 loss to the Colonels after surrendering a 58
th-minute score. But that was then, during a three-game stretch where the Bears lost all three games 1-0. Since then, the Bears have scored in five of six games, including multiple goals twice, and the only two losses since that stretch have been to the ASUN's number one team, Lipscomb.
EKU (9-2-4, 4-1-2 ASUN), however, hasn't lost since game one of conference play, also to Lipscomb. During a stretch of 4-0-2 soccer, the Colonels have allowed just two goals, both to Bellarmine in the last two outings, and outscored opponents 9-2.
The scoring in conference matches has been spread out, but has primarily featured Avery May, either scoring or assisting on six goals. In goal, Jordan LeVasseur has allowed just four goals in ASUN matches, holding a 0.60 goals against average while making 36 saves.
As it stands, EKU is the No. 2 seed out of the ASUN Gold division, with two points' cushion on either side between first and third place. Central Arkansas is in fourth, four points behind North Alabama and two points ahead of Bellarmine.
Kickoff against EKU is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday. The match will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats available online. As always, attendance is free at the Bill Stephens Complex.
