LITTLE ROCK – An early tally by Central Arkansas put Little Rock in a hole it couldn't climb out of, falling to the Bears 2-0 Sunday evening at the Coleman Sports Complex. The loss drops the Trojans to 1-1-1 on the year, giving UCA three points in the Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield Governor's I-40 Showdown.
Central Arkansas outshot Little Rock 12-4 on the night, putting seven shots on goal compared to just two for the Trojans. Little Rock registered five saves from
Saskia Wagner on the night.
"I'm disappointed in the score, because we were confident going into the game and I was expecting another good performance," said head coach
Mark Foster. "Giving up a goal so early rattled us I thought, and we didn't really react well. We had a great chance with Vanessa (Eklund)'s shot off the crossbar, and if that would have gone in, I think we would have re-found our confidence and it could have been a different game."
UCA got on the board early, putting a long shot into the upper left hand corner of the net past a diving Wagner just 1:26 into the game, going on top 1-0. Little Rock had a chance in the 19th minute when a shot from
Vanessa Eklund smacked off the crossbar, keeping the Trojans off the scoreboard.
The Bears tallied another quick goal in the second half, scoring in the 56th minute to put Central Arkansas up 2-0. Wagner registered three saves over the final 45 minutes, keeping UCA from extending its lead, but Little Rock was unable to cut into the lead to take the 2-0 defeat.
Jana Heinen led the Trojans with two shots, including one on goal, with
Julia Edholm adding the other shot on goal for Little Rock. UCA's goalkeeping duo of Keyla Perez and Kasja Pruner combined for a pair of saves in the shutout.
Little Rock now gets set for four-straight away from Coleman Sports Complex, beginning with a weekend trip to Mississippi and Louisiana. The road swing begins Friday in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, taking on Southern Miss at 4 p.m.
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