CONWAY, Ark. - Central Arkansas's Alberto Suarez tallied the match's lone goal in the 24th minute to give the Bears a 1-0 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer victory over visiting Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon at the Bill Stephens Track/Soccer Complex in Conway, Ark.

The Bears improved to 3-4 overall and 3-2 in the Sun Belt with the victory, while Georgia Southern falls to 1-7 overall and 0-5 in the Sun Belt with the loss. The Eagles will wrap up the 2020 Fall campaign on Friday, November 6, hosting Coastal Carolina at 6 p.m. at Eagle Field.

Suarez' header came on the first shot of the match for either team, assisted by Pablo Azcona and Kyosuke Kubota. 

Georgia Southern's first shot of the match came in the 36th minute from senior Aldair Cortes, but was blocked. Central Arkansas held a 5-1 edge in shots at halftime. 

In the second half, the Eagles' Alhaji Tambadu's shot forced a save from Central Arkansas goalkeeper Sebastian Thomsson in the 64th minute, representing the closest chance for Georgia Southern to equalize.

Central Arkansas finished the match with a 10-3 edge in shots. Jose Eduardo Bomfim made three saves in net for the Eagles, while Thomsson made one in net for the Bears. Georgia Southern enjoyed a 7-6 edge in corner kicks and the Eagles were whistled for 10 fouls and offsides once. Central Arkansas was whistled for 11 fouls and offsides five times.

HEAD COACH JOHN MURPHY COMMENTS

"It's tough to come away with a result like this. It's my job to find a way to address the things we need to do to improve, but I think it's important to keep a positive message. The kids on the pitch today gave us everything they had. I saw some improved performances today from when we played Central Arkansas a couple of weeks ago, and there's something to admire with that. We also had several of our kids battling the flu, and some we had to leave home. But nobody used that as an excuse. We just came up short in some of the chances we created. I thought we defended well, and our transition was good. There's been real improvement in the group over the last two weeks, and we have a home game on Friday against first-place Coastal Carolina. We'll put all of our energy and focus into that game to try and end the regular season on a high note."