Najuka Anderson tied the game with a header into the back of the net with just under 30 minutes to play in regulation on Thursday afternoon and the Wayland Baptist women played tough defense the rest of the way to end up with a 1-1 tie in double overtime against Mid-America Christian University.
Anderson's goal, her second of the season, was set up by Michelle Enriquez, who returned to action just this week after sitting out the previous month and a half with an ankle injury.
The WBU women started off sluggishly, but performed well in the second period and in overtime. "We didn't have the best of starts, but I think that had a lot to do with the memorial service the girls attended this morning," said Coach Shiloh Posey of his team, many of whom attended services for Ashleah Richards, a former Wayland student who was killed in a car crash over the weekend. "I was real pleased with the effort we put out in the second half, though. We got the goal back and played with a lot more intensity the rest of the way."
Both teams ended up with nine shots on goal, but the Lady Evangels could manage just one each in the second half and in both overtime periods. Posey's team was kept in the game early by the fine play of freshman goalkeeper Shelby Ohler who made five saves in the opening 45 minutes, including a point blank save very early in the match.
Another strong performance on the defensive end was by junior Janelle Millender, who made two big blocks, the last of which came on a shot from in front in the first overtime.
Offensively, Wayland was led by Anderson with four shots, and Enriquez with three. Brittany Johnson also had a couple of shots, both of which were on goal.
The tie gives the Pioneers an overall record of 3-9-1 and a mark of 1-4-1 in Sooner Athletic Conference play. MACU is now 6-4-1 overall and 1-2-1 in SAC action. Wayland gets the weekend off, but returns to action on Monday at Oklahoma City University.
