Women clinch share of SAC title with win at USAO
CHICKASHA, Okla. — Sophomore Gifte Pavatt’s 16yard shot to the left side of the goal in the 68th minute completed the comeback and delivered the No. 7 John Brown University women’s soccer team its sixth Sooner Athletic Conference regular season title in program history on Tuesday afternoon at Drover Pitch.
After conceding a goal just 88 seconds into the match, senior Megan Hutto leveled the match at one in the 50th minute before Pavatt’s heroics capped off a gorgeous passing play through the Drover defense, allowing the Golden Eagles (14-1-0, 8-0-0 Sooner Athletic) to capture at least a share of their fourth regular season crown in six seasons and second backto-back title in that span.
In order to finish as outright champions, John Brown needed a victory on Senior Night on Saturday, Oct. 30, against Southwestern Christian (Okla.) in the regular season finale. Results were not available at presstime.
By guaranteeing at least a share of the crown, John Brown forces SAC opponents to win at Alumni Field, where the Golden Eagle will hold home-pitch advantage throughout the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament, with the quarterfinals scheduled to begin on Saturday afternoon.
The Drovers’ (13-4-0, 7-1-0) opened the scoring on the first shot of the contest, when Mackenzie Holub fired in her 12th of the season, beating senior Caitlyn Logan to the short side on a one-on-one after breaking in behind the Golden Eagle backline.
The Golden Eagles tied the match on its eighth shot of the afternoon when Hutto’s shot through the box from the left side took a carom off a Drover defender, lost speed and changed angle to find the back of the goal behind Moa Zakrisson. Senior Alair Love pushed the ball into Hutto before her shot, notching her fourth assist of the season.
The goal brought momentum back to the visitors’ side as John Brown began to maintain more possession and strong field position. Hutto and junior Kylie Kilfoy each had shots until John Brown found the game-winner.
Senior Vanessa Reynoso began the play in the midfield by pushing a pass out wide on the left flank. Love played into Hutto in the middle, who one-touched a pass to Reynoso, drawing in the Drover defenders. With supreme presence of mind, Reynoso played the ball right to a wide-open Pavatt. Pavatt took one touch, and let go a rocket just inside the box that Zakrisson managed to get one hand on, but the shot proved too strong as it continued to curl just inside the far left post.
Logan was called upon to make a pair of saves over the next eight minutes until John Brown took complete control of the final 15 minutes of the contest. During that span, the Golden Eagles racked up six shots and six corner kicks that ended any dreams of a Drover comeback effort.
The John Brown defense limited the nation’s leading scorer, Emma Rice, to one shot on goal in 90 minutes of play.
Men
USAO 3, JBU 1
Science and Arts scored three straight goals, including a pair in the second half, to hand the JBU men a loss on Tuesday night.
Erick Diaz gave the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute, but a goal from USAO’s Andres DazaGomez tied the score 1-1 in the 40th minute.
After halftime, Devon Charles’ goal in the 56th minute and Abdel NaitZerrad’s tally in the 84th gave the Drovers (8-6-3, 3-4-1) the winning margin. JBU dropped to 6-9 overall and 4-4 in league play.