Frustrated UCA fans shouted down the referee at women’s soccer’s first tie of its conference season in a scoreless match that found two balls land in the Stetson Hatters net, only to be called back by the referee.
“I thought there was some stuff that could have been called but wasn’t — interesting decisions — but we just got to keep our composure and keep playing,” coach Jeremy Bishop said. “The fans do their part, but we just got to keep playing.”
The 0-0 game had UCA fans charged up as the Bears (4-5-3, 3-0-1 ASUN) fought to continue their three-game winning streak in ASUN Conference play.
Bishop said the tie was “frustrating,” but just the nature of the game.
“It wasn’t like we didn’t play well enough to win today. So no, that’s just soccer,” he said. “Sometimes you compete and you go out and do everything you can and you get your opportunities.”
“We actually put two in the net today and they both got taken back. So that’s frustrating, but we’re just gonna keep plugging away. Ties are gonna happen,” he said.
The Stetson Hatters (1-8-2, 1-2-1 ASUN) took to the pitch for the first time against the Bears with a mixed-bag conference record. The Hatters are ranked eighth in conference play, while the Bears sit at No. 2.
UCA’s Kelly Van Gundy, a junior midfielder, said the Hatters’ defense was tough.
“They played very tight in the back. They kind of didn’t open up to attack,” she said. “They played for a tie, really, and that’s what they got. But we definitely could have had them.”
Van Gundy recorded the most shots of the match with six on goal and seven overall.
The first half saw UCA take four shots to Stetson’s two. Hatters’ goalkeeper freshman Mallory Osborn saved three shots from Bear’s players freshman midfielder Megan Moudy, graduate student midfielder Sydney Brough and junior forward Anna Kerr.
After a scoreless first half, the Bears picked up the pace garnering nine shots to Stetson’s two.
UCA’s goalkeeper junior Kajsa Pruner grabbed her only save of the match off a shot from Stetson sophomore forward Keli Zavatsky.
Stetson’s Osborn kept busy with six saves all off shots from Van Gundy. The match marked a career-high for Van Gundy, tied only with teammate Brough for total scoring points this season. Van Gundy leads the Bears in shots, marking 24 this season, followed again by Brough.
Van Gundy echoed Bishop’s description of the game; “it was definitely frustrating.”
“We come out and we’re trying to get a win. But I mean, our team is pure grit,” she said. “They never give up. Our back line was solid, and we got a lot of chances. We just didn’t finish.”
Van Gundy said she finds the strength to not give up in a tiring match like this one from a higher power and from wanting her team to succeed.
“I don’t play for myself. I play for my team. I play for God. So if that means one more shot for them just to get a chance,” she said. “I always tell the team that we don’t need a hero, we need a goal. So whatever it takes to get one.”
Despite the scoreless match, the Bears maintain a clean sheet for conference play, a welcome change for coach Bishop after a mixed start to the season.
“From where we were at the start of the season to right now is night and day,” he said. “We just gotta keep getting better every time out. That’s always the goal — making sure day in and day out we’re doing what we need to do to get a little bit better each time and that’s what they’re doing.”
The Bears’ next game will be in Clarksville, Tennessee, on Sept. 28 against the Austin Peay Governors (4-7-1, 2-2-0 ASUN) who are currently ranked seventh in conference standings.
After that, the Bears will take on No. 1 ranked team the Lipscomb Bisons in Nashville, Tennessee, on Oct. 1.
Both games are available to stream on ESPN+ with the Governors kicking off at 6 p.m. and the Bisons at 1 p.m.