Central Arkansas fights to 2-2 draw at Arkansas State

Central Arkansas walked away from Jonesboro, Ark. on Sunday with a 2-2 draw against Arkansas State, the program’s first multi-goal game of the season.

UCA came into the weekend still hunting for its first win and this back-and-forth road trip didn’t change the record.

The Bears sit at 0-2-1 after the draw, but the way this one played out showed a group that keeps pushing no matter what the scoreboard says through most of the afternoon.

Three of the four goals in the match landed in the final seven minutes, turning a tight defensive battle into a wild finish.

UCA grabbed the lead twice in that stretch and Arkansas State answered right back both times before the clock ran out on the Bears.

Freshman forward Jama Akpanudo got things rolling for the Bears not long after halftime. She read a backward pass from Arkansas State, stepped in front of it and took off up the field.

She got past the last defender in her way then slipped a shot by the keeper to make it 1-0 in the 48th minute.

That lead held for close to 40 minutes of game time, which had to feel good for a UCA defense still finding its footing this season.

Arkansas State finally broke through when a foul inside the box handed the home team a penalty kick and the Red Wolves made it count to tie things back up.

The Bears didn’t sit back after giving up the equalizer. UCA kept attacking the way it had all match and that pressure paid off again just a few minutes later.

Akpanudo drove deep into Arkansas State territory and drew a crowd of defenders looking to shut her down.

Instead of forcing up a shot herself she spotted sophomore midfielder Megan Moudy sprinting into open space and slid a pass to the top of the box.

Moudy didn’t waste the chance, punching it through to put the Bears back on top with time winding down.

Bears see late lead slip away again

The lead didn’t last long this time either.

Arkansas State caught a fortunate bounce with just over a minute to go and buried the equalizer, sending the match to its 2-2 finish and denying UCA the road win it had chased all afternoon.

Still, the Bears outworked Arkansas State in a lot of the numbers that matter.

UCA put up 18 shots to Arkansas State’s six and landed seven shots on target compared to four for the home team. The Bears also won the corner kick battle 7-4.

Goalkeeper Anna Kathryn Harrell made two saves across a full 90 minutes between the posts and helped keep the match within reach the entire way.

UCA doesn’t have much time to think about the one that got away.

The Bears are back on their own field this week, hosting Alabama State on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex, looking to turn Sunday’s fight into their first win of the year.

For a Bears squad still chasing that first victory of the season, Sunday’s effort in Jonesboro gave the team plenty to build on heading into that home date.

UCA created chances all afternoon and showed it can score in bunches when the pressure’s on, even if the finishing touches on defense still need some work before conference play heats up.