Bears extend streak winning ASUN opening, downing Queens

CONWAY, Ark. — Down 2-0 early, Central Arkansas battled back for a 3-2 victory in its ASUN opener against Queens on Thursday night. The win extended the Bears’ streak of being unbeaten in ASUN openers to four-straight matches.

The Bears (2-5, 1-0 ASUN) fought tooth and nail to scratch back into it against the Royals. UCA had three scorers, and outshot Queens 22-5 across the 90 minutes. Sophia Backstrom logged her team-leading third goal of the season in the win, with Kelly Van Gundy and Caroline Billings notching scores as well.

UCA came out swinging, putting two great shots up in the first few minutes. Megan Moudy’s shot trailed off target, and Melissa Rios forced a save from the Royals keeper. But as quickly as the Bears came out of the gate, Queens countered just as quickly. The Royals scored back-to-back goals in just a few minutes to take a quick 2-0 lead in the 16th minute.

But the Bears stuck to their system, moving the ball up the pitch. With the ball in the middle of the field, Brianna Lopez slipped a ball through the defense that allowed Van Gundy to run on and take the keeper one on one, a battle won by the midfielder. Punching it home, the Bears were on the board in the 27th minute.

As the first half dwindled, UCA was still trailing, but getting good looks at the goal. Finally, a corner kick with just under a minute paid off. Kayla Hurley lined up on the right corner, and lofted a pass into the sweet spot. On the other side, a 5 foot 9 inch Caroline Billings, who put it in the back of the net with a picture-perfect header back across the face of the goal, and the Bears went into halftime tying the game and capturing momentum.

Just like the first half, UCA almost scored right out of the gates. Anna Kerr had a great opportunity just seconds into the new half, but the Queens keeper was able to get a paw on it to keep the shot out of the net.

A couple of minutes later, Lopez hit a shot off the crossbar, indicative of how the bulk of the second half would go. UCA continued to control possession for much of the half, only allowing occasional drives from the Royals.

With just seconds left in regulation, the score still tied at 2-2 and the Bears outshooting Queens 11-2 in the half, Kerr was able to snake a dribble-drive into the box, getting herself all the way to the goal line before sending it across the box. Backstrom made a great sprint into the path of the ball, and sent it in with just 11 seconds remaining in the match.

With the win, UCA is 3-0-1 in ASUN openers, having joined the league in 2021.

Up next, the Bears hit the road to head to Carrolton, Ga., for the first conference matchup with West Georgia. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. on Sunday.