Central Arkansas defeated Louisiana-Monroe in the non conference finale on Sept. 15, making it the first win of the season for the Central Arkansas women’s soccer team. 

Fighting back-to-back during both halves at Brown Stadium in Monroe, LA, Central Arkansas (1-5) managed a score of 3-2 against the Warhawks  after a tough fight. 

Head coach Jeremy Bishop said, “we scored some goals and won the match, made some personnel changes within our system and that really helped us get more of the ball and create more chances to score.”

Bishop said he feels “great” about the way the girls played. 

“Lots of hard working players on this team. Always wanted to do more,” said Bishop. 

At the 19th minute, ULM junior midfielder Giulia Franco scored the first goal of the game. Before the 30th minute, sophomore midfielder Megan Moudy, senior forward Anna Kerr and junior midfielder Lea Duus Madsen all attempted a shot, but none made it into the goal. However, at the end of the first half, senior midfielder Kelly Van Gundy managed a goal, leaving the game tied 1-1 at halftime. 

By the 48th minute, the Warhawks (6-3) took the lead once again with ULM senior forward Skylar Blaise shooting the ball into the back of the net, assisted by sophomore forward Kai Douglas.

Freshman forward Sophia Backstrom quickly responded by scoring at the 55th minute, seven minutes after Blaise’s goal, after a pass from Kerr. This shot marked Backstrom’s second goal of the season. Only ten minutes after Backstrom’s successful shot, Madsen scored a penalty kick goal, taking the lead for the Bears at the 65th minute. 

After an attempt to take the lead back from the Bears, ULM received a red card and lost junior defender Ally Richardson. The Bears and the Warhawks both managed to tie in shots, 12-12 and to tie in shots on goal, 9-9.

There were no shortages of fouls, with UCA racking up 17 fouls and ULM 18. Central Arkansas’ Kelly Van Gundy and Anna Kerr both earned yellow cards while Louisiana-Monroe’s freshman defender Odessa Barattieri received a yellow card shortly after being subbed in. 

As the women’s soccer team continues to progress into the season, Bishop said he expects the team to “keep getting better.” 

“I think we are progressing nicely and should be in good form headed into conference play next week,” Bishop said.

Bishop said freshman defender Addylan Wright played well during the match. 

“It was a great team effort, so many played really well, but Addy (Addylan Wright) probably had the most difficult assignment matching up with a really good, fast player for ULM and she did great, just battled her all day,” Bishop said.

The Bears will face off against Queens (4-4) in their ASUN conference opener at 7 p.m. on Sept. 19 at the Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex.