The Bearkats won their first conference game of the season in overtime 2-1 on Friday in a hard fought battle against the University of Central Arkansas.

Both SHSU and UCS started the game off with equal offensive tactics, but eight minutes into the second half, the Bearkats goalkeeper Kylie Hambleton allowed the first and last UCS goal of the night.

“I feel we definitely did not play as well as we could have,” midfielder Mariah Titus said. “We worked hard but couldn’t seem to get the pieces to fall into place. We were very fortunate to get the win, but our team has so much more potential than what we showed Friday.”

The Bearkats answered to UCS’ first score. SHSU forward Maddy Panazzo passed a ball to junior Allie Johnson who proceeded to kick the ball to the back of the net, tying the game at 1-1.

The game then hit overtime. With three minutes to spare, midfielder Ashley Alonzo placed the game-winning goal, bringing the score to 2-1.

“As soon as Allie gave us our first goal, we were in it to win, even through overtime,” midfielder Lexi Riggs said. “That’s why we came out on top.”

The Bearkats will continue conference play in hopes of winning the programs first Southland Conference Championship. SHSU hosts Houston Baptist University this week for the second conference game.

According to the 2015 Southland Conference Coaches’ Poll, the HBU Huskies are slated to fall behind the Bearkats and take third place.

However, HBU defeated the Bearkats during last season’s SLC Tournament 4-2 due to penalties, so the battle between the two teams is highly anticipated.

“We plan to all be on the same page and focus on our game plan,” forward Shelby McDaniel said. “All over the field we have things we can improve on. As the season goes on we usually begin to work better together and become more technically and tactically sound.”

The Bearkats host the HBU Huskies at Pritchett Field this Friday. Students get in free with student ID.