JBU men’s soccer team remains unbeaten
PLAINVIEW, Texas — The three leading scorers for the John Brown University men’s soccer team produced goals, and freshman Adam Tebbs made a career-high eight saves as the Golden Eagles took a 3-0 win from Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Friday, Sept. 30, at J.V. Hilliard Field.
With the win, the Golden Eagles improve to 6-0-2 overall and inch closer to the 1991 team that opened the season without a loss in its first nine contests. John Brown is 2-0-0 in league play with a difficult midweek contest coming up.
Senior Oscar Carballo unleashed his 10th goal of the season — a low, bouncing shot that just snuck inside the left post from the edge of the box setup by junior Alonso Arrieta — in the 12th minute and six minutes later, sophomore Alejandro Ramirez doubled the Golden Eagle advantage.
Coming off a hat trick at Panhandle State, Ramirez continued his goal-scoring streak to two games when a poor decision come back to haunt the Pioneers (3-51, 0-2-0). Baptist’s Santiago Sanchez played the ball back to keeper Adriano Coppolecchia with pressure coming from Ramirez to make a decision. Instead, Coppolecchia’s pedestrian possession of the ball immediately haunted him as Ramirez came flying in with a tackle as the momentum of the pressure carried the ball slowly across the goal line. The hard-work goal was Ramirez’s sixth of the season.
The host Pioneers couldn’t escape the match without being subjected to at least one beautiful connection play through the middle, and finally in the 49th minute, Zamarron cashed in his ninth of the season.
Senior Matej Urbanija cleared a ball from the back line up into the midfield, where Carballo collected the chance and moved on the counter-attack up field before distributing the pass to Zamarron flying up the right win. Zamarron did what he did best – an impressive strike to the far left of goal to place the match effectively out of reach.
The Pioneers attempted more shots, 22-18, than John Brown, but both teams managed to send eight shots on the opposing keeper. Tebbs took take of all eight shots to secure his first collegiate clean sheet. Coppolecchia suffered the loss, despite being relieved at halftime by Yoherlain Bejarano.
John Brown was scheduled to play at Southwestern Christian on Tuesday afternoon. Results were not available at presstime.
JBU returns home to face Science & Arts (Okla.) on Saturday.
John Brown 5, Okla. Panhandle State 1
GOODWELL, Okla. — Senior Jacob Zamarron scored a first-half brace and sophomore Alejandro Ramirez provided a threegoal second half, powering the John Brown University men’s soccer team to a 5-1 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Wednesday evening (Sept. 28) inside Anchor D Stadium.
Zamarron’s blast from well outside the box caught unprepared Catalin Nastuta flat-footed as the shot sailed just below the crossbar for a 1-0 John Brown lead 22 minutes into the first half. Zamarron doubled the Golden Eagle lead nine minutes later when he finished off a play from freshman Steven Cisneros and senior Oscar Carballo for his eighth strike of the season.
Ramirez tallied his first goal of the night in the 62nd minute when he onetouched a cross from Zamarron into the goal from just yards away to build the visitors’ advantage to three. Six minutes later, he scored off a gorgeous through ball from senior Ivan Garcia, piling on the Aggies in John Brown’s Sooner Athletic opener.
Panhandle State spoiled freshman Adam Tebbs’ clean sheet bid in the 71st minute on a trick free kick play through the back line.
Undeterred, Ramirez finished off the hat trick – his fifth goal of the season – with just over six minutes left in the match from Zamarron and freshman Marco Brizuela.
Tebbs improved to 3-01 on the season, making three saves on four chances. John Brown out-shot the hosts, 23-8, including a 13-5 advantage in shots on goal. Zamarron led all players with nine shots.