Sophomore Najuka Anderson scored the game-winning goal with just under 18 minutes remaining and Wayland Baptist goalkeeper Kylie Middleton took matters in hand down the stretch to give the Pioneers a 2-1 victory over Science & Arts of Oklahoma Monday afternoon on Hilliard Field. The win assures the WBU women of at least the seventh seed in the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament which begins in two weeks.
The Pioneers came out flat in the first 45 minutes of the match, the final one of the regular season for Coach Shiloh Posey's squad.
"I'm not sure what the problem was. It just seemed like we didn't have our feet under us. Their one-touch passing caught us off guard and we were just one step behind that whole first half."
After what Posey termed a "come to Jesus" meeting at the intermission, the WBU women played with more fire. Freshman Jessica Hershon tied the game up just three minutes into the second period with a goal off an assist from Danielle Purcell.
"Everybody did a great job that second half. We kept on pushing until we finally put it in the goal, then Kylie made several great saves in the final few minutes."
Anderson's goal, her fifth of the season, came off a great corner kick by Hershon.
The Pioneers put eight of their 15 second half shots on goal. Anderson led the team with six shots on net in the game. Middleton came up with seven saves for WBU, none more important than the one she made off the foot of USAO's Emily Stevenson at point blank range with just under six minutes remaining.
WBU, which went 4-1-1 down the stretch, completes its regular season with an overall record of 5-8-2 and a conference mark of 4-5-1. The conference tournament is set to kick off on November 4. The higher seeded teams will host the lower seeds in the first two rounds of the tourney.
"We just have to sit back and wait to see how it all shakes out. We know we're seventh, but we could move up another place depending on how the team above us does in their final games."
Oklahoma Christian is currently in sixth place with a SAC record of 3-3. The Lady Eagles have four matches remaining on their schedule, one of which is against Southern Nazarene University which is undefeated in conference play. The other three matches left on their schedule are against Mid-America Christian, currently tenth in the standings; USAO, which is eighth; and Northwestern Oklahoma, which is ninth.
