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Women's Soccer:

https://ucasports.com/news/2021/7/19/womens-soccer-bears-take-on-tough-schedule-in-new-conference.aspx

ASUN schedule plus SEMO, @Arizona State, @Grand Canyon, @ULM, @UALR, Tulsa, Oral Roberts, UAPB, A-State and @Grambling.

Conway, Ark. - The Central Arkansas Women's Soccer Team faces a new challenge in the 2021-2022 season as it joins the ASUN conference. The Bears face a 19-game schedule which includes ten away matches and nine home matches.

The Bears will have five away matches in ASUN play, and will travel to opponents in Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee. A total of eight starters return for the Bears. UCA added multiple newcomers, which includes two new goalkeepers and a handful of talented freshmen ready to compete. Central Arkansas returns the attacking threat of Emma Hawkins as well as the midfield trio of Abby Gibson, Hadley Dickinson, and Anika Sultan. Defenders Gracie Hair, Taylor Webb, and Alyssa Aultman return as well.

"Looking at the upcoming season, we are excited about the change, new opponents, new locations and new opportunities. The ASUN is a very difficult league, but we are looking forward to the challenge," said Head Coach Jeremy Bishop ahead of the start of the new season in the ASUN Conference.

The Bears open up their season on August 15 at home against Southeast Missouri State. The side then travels out west for the first of a four match away stint, which includes matches against Arizona State, Grand Canyon University, ULM, and Little Rock. Four of the final five non-conference matches take place at the Bill Stephens Complex including matches against Tulsa, ORU, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and Arkansas State. Rounding the non-conference schedule is an away trip to Grambling State.

The ASUN opens conference play on September 23, as the Bears travel to Jacksonville, Florida, for a two match stint against Jacksonville and North Florida. The away stint allows the Bears to host the following three matches as they host Kennesaw State, Liberty, and Jacksonville State. On October 10, the Bears travel to Alabama for an away match against North Alabama before returning home for the final time of the season against Eastern Kentucky. The final two matches for Central Arkansas are on the road against Bellarmine out of Louisville, Kentucky, and Lipscomb out of Nashville, Tennessee.

"We were highly competitive last season, especially when we had our full roster available. So to build on last year we will need to stay healthy and be a bit better in the final thirds of the field. We will create opportunities to score, and we will limit our opponents. We will have to be consistently good in those moments to have a big success in terms of match results this season," Coach Bishop said on what needs to be done to build on last season.

The Bears will face ten opponents for the first time in Central Arkansas history this season, which includes eight from the ASUN Conference.

SugarBears Soccer starts off the UCA athletic season this Tuesday (8/10) at 6:30pm vs the Paraguay U20 National Team......at Stephens Track and Soccer Complex...soccer is not my sport but always cheer for SugarBears!!

Soccer wins 2-0 over Paraguay U20 National Team and hosts SE Missouri this Sunday at 3pm before heading out to Phoenix and Tempe for a couple of matches next week....

Men travel to Memphis for a match Sat (8/14) vs Christian Brothers.... long history of soccer at CBC.....

(SEMO) Redhawks Edge Central Arkansas, 2-1, in Final Exhibition Game Sunday

CONWAY, Ark. – Southeast Missouri women's soccer concluded exhibition play Sunday afternoon at the Bill Stephens Track/Soccer Complex with a 2-1 victory over Central Arkansas.

Zoey Memmel and Morgan McCourt both scored for the Redhawks in SEMO's third and final exhibition game of 2021.

Memmel, a sophomore transfer from Milwaukee, found the back of the net on a pass from Hannah Compernolle.

Memmel started in all three exhibitions and registered a goal and an assist.

Morgan McCourt provided the game-winner after the Bears evened the contest at 1-1.

McCourt, a 2020-21 All-OVC Tournament Team selection, scored her second goal during the exhibition slate.

Nadiia Ivanchenko was credited with the assist.

https://ucasports.com/news/2021/8/16/mens-soccer-bears-earn-one-to-all-conference-predicted-seventh-in-preseason-poll.aspx

ATLANTA, Ga. - The ASUN Conference announced their 2021 Preseason All-Conference Team and Awards along with the Coaches Poll. The Bears placed one player on the team and were predicted to finish seventh in the poll.

Alberto Suarez, the senior defender from Zaragoza, Spain, was named to the All-Conference Team which held players from seven teams around the conference. The Bears received only 26 points in terms of voting in the coaches' poll, placing them in seventh out of eight teams. UCA was voted to finish ahead of Stetson, who received 11 points. The Bears are coming into their first season in the ASUN Conference. The Bears faced one ASUN opponent last season, travelling to Lipscomb which finished in a 2-1 loss. Lipscomb was predicted third and received two first-place votes.

"Alberto is a good player because he is a team player, honors like that are nice, but trophies for the team is what Alberto is about. It means we will work hard and give ourselves some goals to work harder in training and move higher than seventh," said Coach Frank Kohlenstein.

"This honor shows that they are looking at me and the pressure is on my shoulders. We love that we are voted low, one of the sayings among the team is, 'Train like Underdogs, Compete like Champions'. If they want to give us the underdog role, it is perfect for us," said Alberto Suarez on the honor and the team's preseason poll spot.

Preseason Player of the Year: Reed Davis, Jacksonville
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Noah Gulden, Lipscomb
Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year: Gustavo Vasconcelos, FGCU

{NOTE-2021 spring season NCAA RPI as of 5/17/21 and D1 records)
Pl. Team(1st Place Votes) Points
1. Jacksonville(4) 57 #77 (7-4-2)
2. FGCU(2) 46 #109 (3-4-4)
3. Lipscomb(2) 43 #63 (4-5-2)
4. Liberty 43 #29 (5-3-2)
5. North Florida 33 #112 (4-3-3)
6. Bellarmine 29 #53 (4-4-0)
7. Central Arkansas 26 #99 (4-9-2)
8. Stetson 11 #156 (1-5-2)

Women drop soccer opener to Arizona State by 6-1 aft taking early 1-0 lead...ASU was 57th in D1 RPI last season......

Fall again....this time by 5-0 at Grand Canyon in Phoenix...yikes.....they were a RPI of 163 last season while UCA was 148...got some work to do....

Next up on Friday, 8/27 at ULM...#299 RPI last season.....

Men won season opener over UT-Rio Grande Valley by 4-3 in Conway....Alberto Suarez had two goals for Bears...next up is Belmont in Conway on Sunday at 6pm.....

Women to ULM by 1-0 at Monroe....one goal in three games.....next game at UALR at 7pm on Sunday.....

Women defeat UALR by 2-1 for first win of the season in the first I-40 Series contests for 2021-2022....Emma Hawkins had a goal and an assist in the win...game was on ESPN+....schedule has the next four games at home with Tulsa on Thursday an ORU next Sunday...

Men slip by Belmont by 1-0....now 2-0 on the season....

The Bears are on the road in the UAB Tournament next weekend, with two matches .......Friday, September 3 against Elon with a kickoff of 4 P.M. and Sunday, September 5 against UAB with a kickoff of 5 P.M.

ATLANTA – The ASUN conference announced its weekly awards for Player of the Week and Defender of the Week on Tuesday. Emma Hawkins earned Player of the Week after putting together stellar performances in the week's two matches.

Hawkins led the team with seven points, with three goals and an assist. She put two of the three goals in the back of the net against Tulsa and added an assist on the other goal. She scored the first goal of the match against ORU. She has been able to find the back of the net in three consecutive matches.

The Bears return to the pitch on Friday, Sept. 10, for a match with Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Conway.

From the Coach – Head Coach Jeremy Bishop
"It's great to get some individual player recognition and Emma certainly played well in both matches this week, scoring and creating some great chances for us. Aside from the last 10 minutes of the Tulsa match, we played really well on both sides of the ball this weekend. We had several players with solid performances. Hopefully we can continue to progress in our matches this coming week."

ATLANTA - Alberto Suarez, the senior captain for Central Arkansas, was named the Defensive Player of the Week for the ASUN after his performances in their two matches over the weekend.

Suarez scored two goals in two games from his center-back position while also keeping a clean sheet in both matches. The captain's goals proved to be the game-winner as both matches ended in a 1-0 victory for the Bears who knocked off Elon and UAB.

HEAR FROM THE COACH
"Alberto has been growing as a player because he is our captain. He knows more is expected of him as a leader. The first area that he shows the team is being an example to his teammates in training and when we compete. His performances have risen as he has been an example of the standard that we aspire to achieve as team members," said Frank Kohlenstein on Suarez.

HEAR FROM THE PLAYER
"Our goal is to win the conference and the national championship and we aren't going to stop until we get it. The fact that we are getting awards is just a signal that we are on the right path," said Suarez on the award and how it pushes the team forward.

Suarez and the Bears travel to Missouri State on Wednesday, Sep. 8, with kickoff set for 6 p.m.

Men's Soccer continue their winning ways! Opening up ASUN play at North Florida with a 1-0 victory! They move to 6-1 on the season!

Keep it up men!

Both soccer team having good seasons...through this week the Men are 9-4/4-1 with upcoming matches to end regular season on 10/23 at home vs Liberty then the next Sat @ Lispcomb.....men were ranked 29th in NCAA D1 RPI last week....highest ASUN team....Bears in first place currently

Women are 9-7/6-2 on a 4 match win streak including win today at Louisville vs Bellarmine by 2-0...they close out regular season on 10/23 @ Nashville vs Lipscomb...Women RPI in middle of ASUN....tied with Lipscomb for West Division lead....

ASUN tourney is played at school sites based on seedings...Women on 10/2-31...Men on 11/5-7

Need to finish out strong....

Nice regional honors to Alberto and Karim....I am not a soccer expert for sure but post season honors from coaches is a solid achievement.....

The Bears finished 11-6 overall and 5-2 in ASUN.....worked thru the tourney to the final game and lost to Lipscomb to ne the runner-up.....notable wins included Belmont, Elon, UAB, Memphis and Liberty...Go Bears!!

https://ucasports.com/news/2021/12/8/mens-soccer-suarez-and-diao-named-to-atlantic-all-region.aspx

CONWAY, Ark. - Alberto Suarez and Karim Diao were both honored by United Soccer Coaches after having strong individual seasons.


Suarez and Diao were both named to the Atlantic All-Region First Team by The United Soccer Coaches after combining for 14 goals, two assists, six game-winning goals and 30 total points this season, leading UCA to an 11-6 record.


Diao, a midfielder from Bordeaux, France scored six goals and provided one assist in 12 starts for the Bears. He played over 1000 minutes, adding three game-winning goals to his tally. The junior scored a pair of goals in the ASUN Championship Semifinal against Bellarmine, lifting the Bears to a 2-0 vicory.


The captain and center back from Zaragosa, Spain scored a team-high eight goals with one assist. With over 1400 minutes played and three game-winning goals for the Bears, Suarez capped off one of the best season's in UCA history. Additionally, Suarez was named the ASUN's Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

The pair helped lead UCA to the ASUN Championship Final in Central Arkansas' first season as a member of the ASUN. Both men were awarded First Team All-ASUN after their outstanding regular seasons as well.