Zamarron’s early goal doesn’t hold for JBU men

Sophomore Jacob Zamarron gave the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead midway through the first half, but the narrow cushion wouldn’t hold as the John Brown University men’s soccer team fell in 2-1 fashion at No. 20 Mid-America Christian (Okla.) on Saturday evening at Evangel Field.

The Evangels (12-2-1, 6-0-1 Sooner Athletic) won their third straight game against the Golden Eagles with a goal in transition and a converted penalty kick all within the last 30 minutes of the contest.

Despite being out shot 9-3 in the first half, the Golden Eagles (3-4-1, 3-4-0) took a 1-0 lead when Zamarron opened the scoring in the 33rd minute. A poor decision by Evangel keeper Sven van den Oever resulted in a muffed pass landing at the feet of freshman Alonso Arrieta, who passed off to Zamarron in the midfield. After a few strides, Zamarron unleashed a long strike to the top left corner of the goal — well out of reach of a stunned van den Oever. The tally was Zamarron’s eighth of the season.

The host Evangels nearly tied the contest in the following minute of play. Off a foul just outside the box, Endri Copa’s free kick caromed off the right goal post — keeping the visitors up 1-0 heading to the intermission.

The second half was much like the first, with the hosts controlling the run of play, but finally a JBU error resulted in a goal. A midfield turnover allowed MACU to transition into offense and Adrian Heinle’s pass through the John Brown back line found

Cesar Ramirez for his first of the season. Ramirez deposited the strike to the far left post after he broke in on senior keeper Jens Keemers all alone.

In the course of holding a 13-2 shooting edge in the second half, the Mid-America Christian leading scorer, Rodrigo Albuquerque, was able to draw a penalty kick in the 82nd minute — and converted — icing the contest with his 15th goal of the season.

The hosts finally held a 22-5 shooting advantage, including a 10-3 margin in shots on target. Both Zamarron and sophomore Oscar Carballo registered two shot attempts to lead JBU. Keemers (2-2-1), the reigning NAIA National Defensive Player of the Week, blocked eight MACU shots on 10 attempts, but was dinged with the loss. Van den Oever picked up the victory behind two saves.

JBU was scheduled to host Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) on Tuesday afternoon. Results were not available at presstime.

JBU is back in action on Saturday for its home finale at 4 p.m. against Texas Wesleyan.