UCA men’s soccer battles Jacksonville to 1-1 draw behind Cook’s saves

CONWAY, Ark. — Merrick Cook didn’t get much time to rest Saturday.

The senior goalkeeper made eight saves as Central Arkansas men’s soccer held Jacksonville to a 1-1 draw.

That’s a lot of work for one guy. The Dolphins put nine shots on goal. Cook turned away all but one of them.

On the other end, UCA only got off two shots all game. Both were on target. One of them found the net.

That one belonged to Maxim Sheenkov. The sophomore forward tied the game about six minutes after Jacksonville scored.

It’s his third goal of the season. Vaclav Kozeny had the other shot on target.

The draw keeps the Bears unbeaten in ASUN play. They’re now 5-2-2 overall and 2-0-1 in the league.

Dolphins strike first but can’t pull away

Jacksonville took the lead in the 15th minute.

Dante Wright sent in a cross from the near side. Matias Tobon then made the last pass to Quinten Koster, who knocked it in for his second goal of the year.

The Dolphins played fast right from the opening whistle. They kept making runs toward UCA’s end of the field.

Scoring took longer for the home side. The attack needed a while to get rolling in the first half.

Jacksonville’s speed had a catch, though. The Dolphins kept getting there a step too early and got flagged for offside again and again.

After Sheenkov’s goal, the visitors still pushed the pace. They just couldn’t get enough players forward on their runs.

The Bears’ back line kept closing the gaps. Defenders cleared the ball and broke up attacks before they turned into real chances.

Physical second half ends without a winner

Neither team did much in the attacking third after halftime.

UCA nearly had something in the 70th minute. Freshman defender Kyle Schwartz carried the ball up the near side on a counter and sent in a strong cross.

A Jacksonville defender got to it first and cleared it away.

The game got chippy as it went on. Jacksonville was whistled for 19 fouls and picked up five yellow cards.

The Bears were called for 14 fouls and got just one yellow card.

UCA also won the corner kick battle 3-2. It’s not much of a prize, but it counts for something.

Unbeaten Missouri State up next

The Bears head back out on the road Tuesday. They’ll play at Missouri State at 7 p.m.

That won’t be an easy trip. Missouri State hasn’t lost yet and comes in at 7-0-1.

The match will stream on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available online.

For UCA, finding a few more shots would be a good place to start.