CONWAY, Ark. - The Western Illinois men's soccer squad concluded its regular season with a 2-1 win over its nonconference opponent Central Arkansas Sunday (Nov. 6).

After the win, the Leathernecks wrap-up regular season play with an overall record of 11-6-1, and own a 4-2 Summit League mark, while Central Arkansas falls to 2-11-4 overall and 1-3-2 Missouri Valley mark.

Head coach Eric Johnson is pleased with his team's turnaround after yesterday's tough loss.

"It was a great team effort to pick up the win after a tough loss less than 24 hours ago," said coach Johnson. "We had a lot of great energy and very good performances from the bench. Winning on the road is never easy."

After dropping last night's match to Oral Roberts due to missed opportunities, the Leathernecks didn't wait long to capitalize on an early chance. Junior forward Nathan Bruinsma put Western up 1-0 just 1:48 into the match, an unassisted goal. Bruinsma flipped the ball over a defender's head, and followed it up by hitting a volley past the keeper, far post.

Senior midfielder Daniel Lewis extended Western's lead to 2-0 after taking advantage of a penalty kick at the 73:04 mark. However, the Bears would cut the Leathernecks' lead back to one just over a minute later at the 74:45 mark when Central Arkansas' Stephen Williams tallied his second goal of 2011; and that's where the score would remain.

The Bears outshot Western, 12-8, while each team put six shots on goal.

Leatherneck goalkeeper Andy Ryan finished with five saves and finishes the regular season with an 11-5-1 record.

The top-seeded Leathernecks (10-6-1, 4-2 Summit League) will open the 2011 Summit League Men's Soccer Championship against the fourth-seeded Oakland Golden Grizzlies (6-11-1, 3-3 Summit League).

Earlier this season, Western defeated Oakland at home, 1-0. (Recap HERE | Box Score and Play-by-Play HERE).

The 2011 Summit League Men's Soccer Championship will be played Friday and Sunday, November 11th and 13th at the Stanley H. Durwood Soccer Stadium and Recreational Field on the UMKC campus in Kansas City.

Both semifinal matches will be televised by Fox College Sports. The Western, Oakland semifinal match will air live on the FCS Atlantic channel. The winners of Friday's matches will play in Sunday's championship match at 1 p.m. (CT) with the victor earning an automatic bid to the NCAA College Cup.

For complete information on the 2011 Summit League Men's Soccer Championship, visit The Summit League's championship page, HERE.