CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's soccer team (1-9 overall, 0-4 ASUN) suffered a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the Central Arkansas Bears (5-4-2 overall, 4-1 ASUN) on Saturday night at Dickson Field. Despite the loss, the Royals showed tremendous growth controlling the tempo and leading the Bears for 59 minutes.

Scoring Summary
23' – QUEENS – Louis Goldsack (Unassisted)
24' – CENTRAL ARKANSAS – Karim Diao (Unassisted)
26' – QUEENS – Yuri Poplawski (Assist Felipe Mendonca and Matias Vilchez)
76' – QUEENS – Darren Abbey (Unassisted)
83' – CENTRAL ARKANSAS – Pietro Fontana (Unassisted)
85' – CENTRAL ARKANSAS - Richy Lapointe-Guevara (Assist Kris Naicker)
87' – CENTRAL ARKANSAS – Pietro Fontana (Assist Sohma Ichikawa)
 
Turning Point
The turning point of the evening proved to be the final seven minutes of the match as the Royals led 3-1 heading into the final stretch. The Bears, currently ranked second in the ASUN, chipped away at the lead with their first goal of the second half in the 83^rd minute. Still down by one, Central Arkansas sent the equalizer into goal just two minutes later as Richy Lapointe-Guevara scored his fourth goal of the season. In the final three minutes, the Bears would take their first lead of the evening as Pietro Fontana scored his second goal of the evening in the 87^th minute to complete the unthinkable comeback.
 
Key Stats & Notes

• Graduate student Louis Goldsack got the scoring going early with his fifth career goal, and second this season in the 23^rd minute. The Middlesbrough, England native moved up to second on the team in goals with the early score.
• Yuri Poplawski made history notching his first career goal for the Royals in the 26^th minute. The goal served as a quick response after the Bears countered with the first equalizer within a minute of the first goal.
• Darren Abbey gave the Royals an insurance spark off the bench scoring his second goal this season in the 76^th minute.
• Veteran leader Felipe Mendonca recorded his sixth career assist, and third this season with a beautiful touch pass on the Poplawski goal. The Salvador, Brazil native leads the squad in assists and sits tied for second in points with five.
• Matias Vilchez posted a multi-shot performance for the second straight match. The junior also notched his first career assist on the Poplawski goal.
• Central Arkansas won the shooting total 13-9 despite Queens winning the first half battle 7-2. The Bears won the corner battles 12-3, including eight in the second half.
• The conference clash was a physical battle as both teams combined for 28 fouls and nine cards.

 
Up Next
The Royals will head east for a non-conference tilt at UNC Wilmington on Tuesday, October 11 at 7:00 p.m. Queens will return home on Saturday, October 15 when they welcome Jacksonville at 6:00 p.m. for senior day. Fans can secure their tickets in advance by visiting the Queens Athletics website. The match will be broadcasted live on ESPN Plus beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Social Media
Be sure to follow the Queens Men's Soccer team on Twitter and Instagram throughout the 2022 season to get the latest news and updates. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok to keep up with all the Royals in action.