18 Oct 2023 Late goal lifts Bears over Ospreys
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish. For the Central Arkansas women’s soccer team, that has been true all season, but never more so than Sunday afternoon. Junior midfielder Kelly Van Gundy ended each half with a goal, lifting the Bears to a 2-1 win over North Florida in an ASUN match.
The win improves Central Arkansas to 8-6-4 overall, and 7-1-2 in ASUN matches. It also moves the Bears one step closer to the No. 2 seed in the ASUN tournament: Florida Gulf Coast played Eastern Kentucky to a draw, allowing the Bears to take sole possession of the second spot in the standings with a single game remaining. With at least a point on Saturday, the Bears will lock up the league’s second seed.
North Florida controlled early possession on Sunday, taking a few early shots to establish an early pressure on the Bears. And though Central Arkansas’ defense was able to clean things up, the transition game that the Bears thrive on wasn’t open. North Florida’s defense was aware of it and was able to get in front of forward passes and keep possession away from the attacking third. Caroline Billings came in midway through the first half and got a couple of shots up, even nearly scoring on a corner kick, but the Ospreys kept the game scoreless.
Finally, with about 75 seconds left in the first half, the channels opened up. Emily Wissel-Littmann cleared a ball up the field to Billings, who punched an absolutely perfect through ball to Van Gundy, who rocked it up into the upper corner of the net to give the Bears a 1-0 lead at the break.
But it was North Florida who came out on a mission in the second half, desperate to find an equalizer and keep its postseason hopes alive. And it wouldn’t take long for that to happen, with the Ospreys connecting in the 53rd minute to level the score. With the momentum clearly in favor of the home team, the Ospreys continued to put pressure on the Central Arkansas defense and Kajsa Pruner. But the Bear defense did what it’s done since the start of conference season: bend without breaking. It didn’t always look pretty, there were certainly some hold-your-breath moments, including a couple of top-shelf saves from Pruner to poke shots up and over the crossbar, but the Bears stayed alive.
As the clock ticked away, it felt like Central Arkansas was going to be thrilled with a tie, as North Florida outshot the Bears 11-3 in the second half. But finally, in the last few minutes of the match, the Bears started finding outlet passes, moving the ball back up the field to make a couple of late pushes to reclaim the lead. Then with 90 seconds left, Gabby Thies found Van Gundy about 35 yards from the goal, most likely in a position to send in a cross for crashing forwards. Instead, the Bears’ leading scorer took a preparatory touch to her right and drilled a high-arcing shot toward the goal, dropping it over the outstretched keeper and into the net.
With the brace, Van Gundy moved up to seven goals on the year and ten for her career. She joins Sydney Brough in the double-digit goal club while marking her first career multi-goal game. The junior also moved into second in the ASUN with her seven goals this season.
Central Arkansas plays one more regular season game on Saturday, facing North Alabama on Senior Day. Prior to the match, the Bears will honor their three seniors, Brough, Wissel-Littmann and Alyssa Aultman, recognizing them for their contributions and accomplishments in Purple and Gray. Kickoff against the Lions is set for 1 p.m.
