Football
UCA soccer chases fifth straight home win vs. Oral Roberts
Bears host Oral Roberts as the Bears try to stretch their home winning streak past five games this week.
Central Arkansas is set to defend a five-game home winning streak Thursday night when Oral Roberts comes to town for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex.
The streak stretches back to last season and UCA doesn’t plan on letting it end anytime soon.
Fans in Conway can catch the match on ESPN+ and live stats will be posted online for anyone who can’t make it to the complex in person.
UCA sits at 1-1-1 on the young season.
The Bears kept their home streak alive last week with a 2-0 win over Belmont in their home opener and they’ll look to carry that momentum straight into this matchup.
Two names stood out in that Belmont win.
Sophomore Vaclav Kozeny and fellow sophomore Dalton Anderson each found the back of the net and both will try to build on that success against the Golden Eagles.
Schwartz still hunting first goal
Junior Kyle Schwartz leads the Bears with six shots on the season but he hasn’t found his first goal yet.
He’ll get another shot at breaking through Thursday night against an Oral Roberts defense that’s had trouble with UCA at home in recent years.
Senior goalkeeper Merrick Cook is coming off a huge performance in net.
He made seven saves against Belmont and earned ASUN Goalkeeper of the Week for his effort. Cook’s play between the posts has been a big reason UCA’s home record has stayed strong.
A tight series history
The history between these two programs runs close every single time.
The Bears hold an all-time edge over Oral Roberts at 9-12-2 but last year’s meeting in Tulsa went the other way, with the Golden Eagles pulling out a 3-2 win.
When these teams play in Conway things tend to even out. UCA is 1-1-1 against Oral Roberts across the last three matchups on its own turf, proof that home cooking doesn’t guarantee much against this particular opponent.
Kickoff is locked in for 7 p.m.
