Texas Wesleyan stuns Golden Eagles in second half
Texas Wesleyan scored three unanswered goals in the second half – including the game-winner in the final minute – as the John Brown University men’s soccer team led a 2-0 lead slip away in a a 3-2 loss to the Rams on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 29) at Alumni Field.
In a match that was all but a literal shootout, the teams combined for 58 shot attempts, 24 saves and 14 corner kicks. The Rams (125-0, 5-4-0 Sooner Athletic) did hold a 17-12 advantage in shots on goal.
With the loss, the Golden Eagles (9-3-3, 5-3-1) fall from second place in the league table to fourth, and will look forward to a rematch with the fifth-seeded Rams in the Sooner Athletic quarterfinals, set to begin at 6 p.m. Saturday evening (Nov. 5).
While outshooting Texas Wesleyan by a 17-8 margin in the first half, sophomore Kendall Acuna opened the scoring in the 19th minute by heading in a corner service from junior Alonso Arrieta for a 1-0 John Brown lead.
With halftime looming, junior Erick Diaz’s pass through the Rams back line sprung senior Oscar Carballo in the 41st minute. Carballo cut diagonally though the field to his right and ripped a shot to the near right side into the top shelf, doubling the host’s advantage to 2-0.
After halftime, however, the Rams responded with a 21-12 shooting advantage and potted goals in the 63rd and 71st minutes to draw level on strikes from James Kerr and Mathis Gouffroy.
JBU nearly took back the lead in the 83rd minute when Carballo was inches from securing a brace, but his shot to the left of goal rang of the left post, and then the right, never breaching the goal line entirely, forcing the match to continue level.
With the match destined to finish in a draw, Texas Wesleyan had one more opportunity and capitalized, as Oscar Odriozola tapped in a rebound off a Gouffroy shot to the near left post with just 34 seconds left in the match.
Sophomore Kyle Hix made a career-high 13 saves on 16 chances, but absorbed the loss to move to 5-2-1 on the year. Alex Heinie made 10 saves on 12 opportunities for the Rams.
JBU 4, SAGU 0
Junior Erick Diaz scored his first goal of the season to break the scoreless deadlock, and the Golden Eagles added three second-half goals as the John Brown University men’s soccer team defeated Southwestern A.G. (Texas) by a 4-0 final on Thursday evening (Oct. 27) at Alumni Field.
Senior Jacob Zamarron maintained his Sooner Athletic scoring lead by netting his 13th strike of the season, assisted on two other tallies, and senior Oscar Carballo added a pair of assists in his return as the Golden Eagles (9-23, 5-2-1) heavily out-shot the visiting Lions by a 27-4 margin.
Diaz opened the scoring in the 33rd minute by gaining control of a loose ball in the box with SAGU keeper Jose Ladoriel caught out of the position. Diaz curled to the outside and sent a long volley over Ladoriel and two Lions defenders into the empty goal – making his first of the season a gamewinner.
While neither team was able to record a shot in the final 13 minutes of the first half, John Brown tacked on three more in the second half via tallies from senior Christian Marroquin, Zamarron and sophomore Jose Gabriel Rodriguez.
Sophomore Kyle Hix needed just a trio of saves for his second shutout of the season.