Trio of First Half Goals Too Much to Overcome for Men’s Soccer
SHAWNEE, Okla. (October 11, 2014) -- The Golden Eagles (5-6-1, 1-3-1 SAC) opened the scoring early, but three first-half Oklahoma Baptist (6-6-0, 3-1-0 SAC) goals was too much to overcome as John Brown fell 3-2 to the Bison tonight at the OBU Soccer Complex.
Freshman striker Daniel Isiagi scored his first collegiate goal while junior midfielder Eli Simonsen tallied his second goal of the season, but three OBU goals in between sent JBU to its sixth one-goal defeat of the season.
“We looked really good for 65 minutes of the game, but really chaotic for the other 25 minutes,” admitted head coach Scott Marksberry. “We dug ourselves too deep of a hole and OBU capitalized with two really nice goals. Then, in the second half, their goalkeeper put on a clinic in goal. He made three second-half saves that would have been goals in any other game we played this year. We had all the chances we could ask for in the second half, but we could not beat the keeper.”
That second half was highlighted by a 9-3 shooting advantage for John Brown, but OBU keeper Marcus Oliveira came up with five saves on six shots in the second stanza to preserve the victory for the Bison.
JBU found the board first in the ninth minute of play. Senior midfielder Martin Gonzalez played a corner kick to the top of the box where Simonsen settled the ball and unleashed a 20-yard left-footed shot into the side of the net for a 1-0 Golden Eagle advantage.
The Bison responded with a pair of goals of its own, two in eight minutes, when Noel Orozco began the host scoring in the 25th minute. Just eight minutes later, Vincente Castillo cleaned up a rebound off freshman goalkeeper Adam Holt in the John Brown box, sending the lead to Oklahoma Baptist for the first time in the match.
Just before halftime, the Bison tacked on a third tally of the match. Rueben Basurto ripped a shot from the top of the box for a 3-1 lead with 50 seconds remaining in the first half.
OBU out-shot John Brown by a 5-2 mark in the first half.
The second half was all JBU as the Golden Eagles’ offensive flurries created scoring chances throughout the half. The 60th minute saw JBU nearly pull within one when senior forward Cory Cole found himself on a one-versus-one chance with Oliveira. Oliveira managed to make the save, preserving a 3-1 score.
Finally, in the 60th minute, Isiagi capped off a beautiful passing play that began with junior defender Logan Hellinghausen’s drop pass to freshman midfielder Collin Smith. Smith played a perfect ball into the path of an oncoming Zeke Zumbro, who carried the ball to the sideline. Zumbro’s pass zipped across the box to a streaking Isiagi, who finished the play with a one-time strike. Zumbro nabbed his third helper of the season while Smith collected his fourth assist on the play.
The Golden Eagles managed three more shots in the remainder of the game, but were continually denied by Oliveria, who made his final save on sophomore defender Daniel Marulanda’s attempt in the 88th minute which began with another Gonzalez corner kick.
JBU held a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks and an 11-8 margin in shots. Gonzalez and freshman defender Douglas Oliveria each recorded a pair of shot attempts while seven other Golden Eagles tallied one chance. Basurto was the only Bison to record more than one shot in the match for the hosts.
Having won only once in its last five matches, the Golden Eagles will return to the pitch on Saturday (Oct. 18) in Plainview, Texas, in search of breaking its skid. The tilt with the Pioneers is set to begin at 2 p.m.
