Bears blank Central Baptist 3-0 to stretch win streak to three

Central Arkansas men’s soccer picked up its third straight win of the season, beating Central Baptist College 3-0 on Monday night.

The match took place at Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex and pushed UCA’s record to 3-1-1.

The Bears trotted out a different starting lineup than fans are used to seeing. That change didn’t slow anything down early.

UCA held the ball for long stretches in the opening minutes but struggled at first to push deep into the Mustangs’ defensive third.

UCA didn’t stop working. Strong midfield play opened up several chances in the attacking third as the half went on.

Dalton Anderson fired the Bears’ first real scoring chance, but a Central Baptist defender blocked the shot.

Anderson tried again in the 20th minute, and the Mustangs’ goalkeeper got a leg on it to keep the score even.

The breakthrough came in the 34th minute. The ball bounced off several players from both teams before dropping to John Malik St. Phard, who buried it for his first goal of the year.

Kyle Schwartz earned the assist. UCA carried a 1-0 edge into the locker room at the break.

The Bears came out sharp to start the second half and doubled their lead just eight minutes in. Vaclav Kozeny scored to make it 2-0.

He wasn’t finished. Kozeny struck again in the 61st minute off a feed from Logan Smith, stretching the margin to 3-0.

Central Baptist tried to claw back into the match, but UCA’s defense kept the Mustangs away from good looks all night.

Goalkeeper Benjamin Aviles made several key stops in his first start of the season and closed out the clean sheet.

UCA’s shot totals tell the story

The stat sheet backed up the scoreboard. UCA out-shot Central Baptist 15-2 for the match and held an 11-0 edge in shots on goal.

The Bears also won the corner kick battle 8-1, even though they picked up more fouls than the Mustangs did.

UCA returns home Friday for its first ASUN Conference match of the season, hosting Lipscomb.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex, and the match will stream live on ESPN+ with live stats posted online.

Three wins in a row give UCA some real momentum heading into conference play.