JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Despite scoring first in its ASUN Championship Quarterfinal, the Central Arkansas men's soccer team couldn't hold onto the one-score lead, falling in its championship opener on Saturday against Stetson. The Bears end their season on a 2-1 loss in postseason.
 
Central Arkansas wrapped up a 4-10-2 season, having been a perfect 4-0 at home, but being unable to find that same spark on the road.
 
Senior forward Pietro Fontana got the scoring started, taking a ball from Devonte Richards after Stetson thought it had the Italian offside, and Fontana dodged the keeper and stuck it home in just the tenth minute. It marked the 24^th and final goal of Fontana's career, and had the Bears in a great spot early on, playing a Stetson team that has struggled to score the ball.
 
As time continued in the first half, it took both sides time to get the ball into favorable position, and it would take until the 37^th minute before another shot found any kind of target. Maxim Sheenkov nearly doubled the lead shortly before half, but the Stetson keeper was able to keep it out of the net. At half, the Hatters had zero shots on goal, and the Bears were in the driver's seat heading into the break.
 
But that all quickly changed after halftime, as the Hatters came out determined to get on the board. A pair of early shots on goal saw Stetson present its first real threats of the game, and the pressure eventually resulted in back-to-back scores in the 55^th and 57^th minutes, turning a game that was all Bears into a match that was suddenly all Hatters.
 
Central Arkansas, though, remained poised. The Bears moved the ball forward into attacking position quickly after the two scores, and got Fontana another quality look, but the Stetson keeper stayed in front of it. In the 70^th minute, Richards punched a shot, but it trailed just right of the net. On the other side, the Bear defense held fast, repelling several attacks from the Hatters that could have put the game on ice.
 
The Bears had a pair of corner kicks, one in the 80^th and one in the 90^th, that both presented quality looks, the former getting a pair of shots on goal as a result, but both were stopped before scoring. The latter of the two corners, as time expired, saw all 11 Bears within 18 yards of the goal, but the chance was cleared as time expired.