Southwestern Christian Stuns Golden Eagles in Semifinals
SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. (November 9, 2015) -- With a 1-0 lead in hand and under three minutes left in the match, the second-seeded John Brown men’s soccer team (13-6-1) yielded the game-tying goal and eventually fell in double-overtime to third-seeded Southwestern Christian (Okla.), ending its season with a 2-1 defeat on Monday (Nov. 9) night at Alumni Field in the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament semifinals.
With the Eagles (15-5-0) pressuring late in the match, SCU’s Chad Dennis headed home the game’s equalizer off a corner kick near the goal line, stunning JBU and the Alumni Field crowd. Mathew Yeoman crossed in a perfect ball from the corner flag, picking up the assist.
Freshman Ryan Williams was able to launch two shots attempts in the first extra session, including a free kick that Southwestern Christian keeper Chris Muter was able to corral after the shot cleared the defensive wall from about 35 yards out.
Knotted at one apiece, the Eagles scored the game-winner in the 103rd minute when Matheus Goviea curled in a shot from the top of the 18, just under the crossbar, besting JBU freshman keeper Connor Georgopulos. Milan Milicevic began the play by receiving a pass from Goviea at the right corner of the 18, and then sent a short centering pass across the 18 after Goviea made his run to the top of the box.
John Brown scored first in the 31st minute of play. Williams sent a pass through the SCU back line up the left flank, allowing freshman Kelvin Omondi to break in all alone on Muter. Omondi calmly lifted the ball over the oncoming Muter from 12 yards out, vaulting the home team on top, 1-0.
Southwestern Christian owned the majority of possession throughout the match and out-shot the Golden Eagles 11-8 on the evening. However, JBU tallied more shots on goal (6-4), but was unable to solve Muter four times like it did in a regular-season 4-1 win. Muter stopped five in the game while Georgopulos (3-1-0) absorbed his first collegiate defeat, making a pair of saves while yielding two goals.
Williams, Omondi and senior Zeke Zumbro each attempted two shots on the evening while Adam Butler attempted three for SCU. Lucas Louriero, Dennis and Goviea each added a pair for the Eagles.
With the victory, SCU will continue on to play top-seeded Science & Arts (Okla.) on Thursday (Nov. 12) at Drover Pitch in Chickasha, Okla. The winner will receive the Sooner Athletic Conference’s lone automatic berth to the 2015 NAIA National Championships.
John Brown will say goodbye to six seniors in Aaron Estrada, Will Simonds, Logan Hellinghausen, Galen Bahadoorsingh, Zeke Zumbro and Cory Cole. The senior class compiled a 41-28-7 (.539) record over the last four years, which included a trip to the 2012 SAC tournament title game and three appearances in the tournament semifinals. JBU’s 13 wins this season is the most since the Golden Eagles posted a 13-5-2 mark in the 2003 season, which included a first-round appearance in the NAIA National Championships.
