Golden Eagles suffer 2-1 Overtime Loss to Stars
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (October 2, 2013) -- Junior Martin Gonzalez's equalizing goal in the 77th minute wasn't enough, as Oklahoma City (4-3-0, 1-0-0 SAC) scored the game winner with four seconds remaining in the first overtime session to hand John Brown (4-5-0, 0-1-0 SAC) a 2-1 loss tonight at Stars Field.
"This was a tough loss, but we played well," said head coach Scott Marksberry. "We controlled the pace in most of the game and we created dangerous chances. We had several chances to put this game away. It seemed like we would win the match, or, at the very least, come away with a draw on the road against a quality side, then Oklahoma City scored a quality goal with four seconds remaining in the first extra session. It was pretty shocking. OCU is a good team and will do well in the conference.
"We have to quickly get over this, minimize mistakes in the future and finish our chances in the next game. I do think the pieces are coming together for us, and if they continue to click into place, then our team will he a handful for anyone we play."
City took a quick 1-0 lead over the Golden Eagles when Adam Black notched a goal in the 11th minute when he corralled a loose ball in the JBU box and fired it past senior keeper Pablo Garcia.
The Stars out-shot the visitors by a 9-4 margin in the first half as JBU sent two shots on goal, forcing Stars netminder Joe Schulberg to make a pair of saves, keeping the score at 1-0.
In the second half, the Golden Eagles responded as Gonzalez netted his fifth strike of the season to knot the score at one apiece. Gonzalez unleashed a shot from the left flank that beat Schulberg. Both teams would have scoring chances before overtime ensued but neither could capitalize.
John Brown pieced together a much better half, sending seven shots towards the OCU cage, while the Stars returned eight at Garcia and the Golden Eagle net.
In overtime, JBU had its best opportunity in the 95th minute when junior forward Ryan Duncan earned the Golden Eagles' only shot on goal in the extra session. Just minutes before that, OCU had come close to ending the game when Ruy Vaz hit the crossbar. With only four seconds left in the first overtime, Vaz made no mistake on his second opportunity, when he finished a Daniel Yeom cross in the box, handing John Brown the 2-1 loss.
Garcia (4-5-0) took the loss in net for JBU while Schulberg (4-3-0) picked up the win for the Stars. Garcia finished the match with five saves. Schulberg posted four in the winning effort.
The Golden Eagles will return to the pitch on Saturday (Oct. 5) when they host Southwestern Christian (Okla.) to Alumni Field as a part of John Brown's Homecoming 2013 festivities. The Eagles (6-2-0, 1-0-0 SAC) will face-off against JBU at 3:00 p.m.
