Conway, Ark. – Central Arkansas (1-1-1) picked up its first win of the season in the home opener against Belmont after scoring two second-half goals in a 2-0 victory.
Early on in this one, Belmont was looking to strike and tried to push the tempo for most of the game. The Bears stood strong in their own third as Belmont had multiple corner kicks and throw-ins. If goalkeeper Merrick Cook wasn't there to make the save, the ball was headed out or cleared by a Central Arkansas player. Despite it seeming like Belmont had possession for most of the first half, Central Arkansas was very comfortable on the defensive side in this one.
As the second half kicked off, the Bruins kept looking to attack, but after building on an impressive first half defensively, the Bears kept responding and then got the chance to get rolling with some tempo themselves offensively. Sophomore Dalton Anderson found the back of the net in the 64th minute for the first time this season after receiving a beautiful pass through the middle from Noa Bomballi, who was credited with the assist.
After the Central Arkansas goal, Belmont once again looked to create some offense, but Central Arkansas' defense created what looked like it might be the second goal in this one. Michael Walenchok was able to break away with the ball and put up a shot in the 61st minute that deflected off the goalkeeper. The miss didn't seem to phase the Bears much, as they were able to get the ball back defensively and send a through pass to Vaclav Kozeny, who was able to beat a Belmont defender and the goalkeeper to make the score 2-0.
As time continued to tick down for Belmont, they continued to be aggressive, searching for that first goal, but the Bears quickly closed on every opportunity. Goalkeeper Merrick Cook recorded his first clean sheet of the season, picking up seven saves along the way. Despite nine corner kicks and multiple throw-ins headed his way, the goalkeeper was never fazed, blocking shots high and low tonight.
Central Arkansas will look to build on the home win with another one against Oral Roberts next Friday, who currently sits at 1-0-2.
