CONWAY, Ark. – Aadne Bruseth and Jack Denton each scored a goal in the second half to lift No. 8 Missouri State men's soccer to a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Central Arkansas here Saturday evening.
 
After UCA scored a goal in the early stages, Bruseth and Denton delivered MSU's second-half counterpunch to capture the non-conference road win and preserve Missouri State's perfect 2020-21 record.
 
"Kian (Yari) has been terrific on free kicks all season long so I knew he was going to hit his target," said Denton, who recorded his first career game-winner.  "I was able to beat my man to the spot and knock in the goal.  It's another exciting win for the team and we are looking forward to coming back home and facing a tough Loyola team."
 
UCA (6-9-2, 3-3-0 Sun Belt) struck first in the 9th minute as Ole Kjoerholt took a pass from Bradyn Knutson and snuck in the game's opening goal to put MSU in rare position being down 1-0.
 
Facing its first halftime deficit of the season, Missouri State (9-0-0, 7-0-0 MVC) came right out of the intermission break with an increase in attacking pressure leading to its first goal of the match.
 
In the 54th minute, Bruseth broke loose on a run down the right side of the pitch and fired in the equalizer to draw the match even with just a few minutes ticked off the second-half clock.  It was Bruseth's third straight game with a goal after he scored at Loyola (March 26) and Evansville (March 30).
 
Denton's game-winner came in the 64th minute after a free kick from the foot of Kian Yari ricocheted off the crossbar and the junior midfielder was there to collect the carom and punch in the decisive goal.
 
With desperation mounting on the hosts side, keeper Michael Creek and the MSU defense clamped down to snuff out a late surge.  The purple Bears sent four shots in the final 16-minute stretch with two of them being on target, but Creek was there to snag both attempts for two of his three saves in the match.
 
The two clubs matched each other in the shots column with both sides tallying nine apiece.  Nicolo Mulatero joined Bruseth and Yari with two shots in the match.
 
Missouri State closes out the regular season against Missouri Valley Conference foe Loyola on April 8 at 2 p.m. at Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium.  With the top seed locked up for the MVC Tournament, the Bears will host the semifinal round at home on April 13.