Central Arkansas soccer team edges Nevada 1-0 on Billings goal

The Central Arkansas women’s soccer team pulled off a hard-fought 1-0 win over Nevada on Thursday night.

UCA picked up the win at the Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex. The Bears have now won three straight games on their home turf.

Nevada came out strong in the first 15 minutes. The Wolf Pack held more of the ball early and used their size to cause trouble.

The visitors still couldn’t find the net. Nevada fired three shots in the first 20 minutes but none got past UCA’s defense.

The game slowed down after that stretch. Both teams tried long passes through the middle but neither side found much room to work with.

Bears freshman forward Jama Akpanudo had a good scoring chance near the 30-minute mark. The Nevada goalkeeper made the save to keep things scoreless.

Nevada had one more good look before halftime but UCA held on. Both teams headed to the locker room tied at zero.

Billings breaks through early in the second half

The Bears wasted no time after the break. Just three minutes into the second half Caroline Billings picked up the ball deep in Nevada’s end of the field.

Billings sent a quick pass up to Akpanudo. Akpanudo turned and sent it right back to her and Billings blasted it into the net for the only goal of the match.

The goal was Billings’ fourth of the season. It also gave Akpanudo her fourth assist of the year.

The score capped a quick give-and-go between the two attackers that caught Nevada’s back line off guard.

With 40 minutes still to play UCA had to stay locked in. A one-goal lead can slip away fast if a team relaxes too soon.

The Bears did not relax. Defenders Brooke Cross and Rylee Reisdorph shut down Nevada’s attack again and again, breaking up crosses before they reached the box.

UCA defense holds firm to close it out

As the clock wound down Nevada pushed more players forward to try to tie the game. UCA answered by dropping an extra defender back to protect the lead.

Bears goalkeeper Hanna Hargrave made four saves in the win. It was her third shutout of the season.

Nevada finished with more shots on goal, five to two, and more corner kicks, eight to seven. But UCA made the plays that mattered most.

The win pushed the Bears to 3-3-1 overall and 3-1 at home this season. Nevada dropped to 2-5-0.

UCA will need to regroup fast. The team travels to Oklahoma State on Sunday for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Stillwater in one of its final non-conference games of the year.