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HOUSTON – In a matchup of the Southland Conference's top two teams, the HBU women's soccer team dropped a 3-1 decision to visiting Central Arkansas at Sorrels Field on Sunday afternoon but the Huskies also clinched a berth to the conference tournament and are assured of no worse than the sixth seed.
 
The Huskies (8-6-1, 6-1-1 SLC) fell behind early when a corner kick by Hadley Dickinson to the back post found Gracie Hair who popped the ball up in front of the net right to a waiting Camille Bassett for a header into the net and a 1-0 Central Arkansas (12-3-1, 7-1-0 SLC) lead in the eighth minute. Just two minutes and 26 seconds later, Kristen Ricks played a ball down the left side, sending a cross into the box and finding Bassett for her second goal of the match and a 2-0 advantage less than 10 minutes into the game.
 
Sophomore Noor Abukishk attempted the first shot of the game for the Huskies in the 19^th minute, a good look inside the 18 yard box that was contested by UCA's goalkeeper, Lauren Mercuri, but missing wide. Then, at the 20:31 mark, UCA's Connie Awuku-Darkoh drew a foul in the box and then converted the penalty kick to put HBU in a 3-0 hole. Autumn Wildung put a shot on goal a minute later, forcing Mercuri into her first save of the match.
 
After the Bears took their 3-0 lead into the half, HBU responded in the 56^th minute. The Huskies earned a corner kick, taken by Megan Rickert, which found senior Sabriah Spencer who perfectly placed a header over Mercuri and off the bottom of the crossbar into the goal to put HBU on the board. Less than six minutes later, Talin Rizo's shot was stopped by Mercuri. In the 75^th minute, Avery Cortez got a good look in front of the goal but her attempt missed wide right.
 
Spencer's goal was her fifth of the season and her third in SLC play. The senior now has three goals and four assists in eight conference games for 10 points, the second-highest total in the league.
 
"Obviously, I think we came out a little sluggish," said head coach Misty Jones. "They scored their goals and then we started to play and fought hard. In the second half, we had a number of opportunities and really put the pressure on them. In the conference, these kind of games are very important. When we get to the conference tournament, we can look back at this and know that we can dig deep. I think we did get a little bit unlucky, but at the end of the day we're in control of our own destiny and we can control what we do from here."
 
The Huskies will wrap up the 2018 season with three-straight road matches beginning on Friday, Oct. 19, with a visit to defending champion Lamar before continuing on to face McNeese on Sunday, Oct. 21.