Early goal, dramatic PK save helps men's soccer end City's run
SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Sophomores Steve Teshima and Ashby Clark scored a goal in each half and junior Adam Holt made a timely save to carry the No. 15 John Brown University men's soccer team (8-1-1, 3-0-0 SAC) to a 2-0 win over Oklahoma City on Tuesday (Oct. 4) evening at Alumni Field.
The win came after the NAIA released its next round of top-25 national rankings, which saw the Golden Eagles move up one spot to the No. 15 slot in the nation. It's John Brown's highest ranking since the third ranking of 2004, which it held the No. 13 spot nationwide.
Teshima and Clark each tallied their second goals of the season while sophomore Ryan Williams added a helper, his seventh of the season.
The Golden Eagles now keep pace with Southwestern Christian (Okla.) and Wayland Baptist (Texas) atop the Sooner Athletic table. While tied with identical 3-0-0 marks in league play, JBU easily holds the best overall win percentage in the conference.
It took the hosts just eight minutes to find the board as Williams' free kick from outside the left box floated into the goalmouth, where Teshima laid a header on the volley, beating City keeper Vladimir Kalajdzic for a 1-0 John Brown lead.
Nine minutes later, the Golden Eagles were whistled for a foul inside the box, prompting OCU (8-3-0, 2-1-0) an opportunity to tie the match. Petar Djurdjevic's attempt to the bottom right post was rejected by a diving Holt save, preserving the one-goal lead.
After a narrow 9-7 shooting advantage in the first half, JBU opened up a 7-3 stanza in the second half. While most play was in the midfield and neither team had strong scoring opportunities, the hosts received the insurance goal it needed in the 7th minute.
After a booming Holt drop-kick, Williams played sophomore Kelvin Omondi across the top of the 18. Omondi's bending attempt beat Kalajdzic, but rattled off the crossbar. On the rebound, Clark cradled the free ball and one-touched volleyed a shot into the goal.
Holt moved to 8-1-1 with his sixth clean sheet of the season, making four saves. Kalajdzic fell to 8-3-0 and finished with fives saves on the match.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday (Oct. 8), welcoming St. Gregory's (Okla.) to Alumni Field for a 3 p.m. first kick.
