Box Score CEDAR HILL – The Wayland Baptist women's soccer team traveled to Cedar Hill to take on Northwood University in a Sooner Athletic Conference match Thursday afternoon without the leading scorer in the Sooner Athletic Conference,
Emarie Holland. But that didn't stop the Pioneers from picking up their third conference victory, the most since 2008, with a 2-1 win over the Knights.
With the wind at their backs in the first half, the Pioneers (8-4, 3-1) knew that they needed to take advantage of it while they had the chance, and they did just that. Head coach
Shiloh Posey said it took his team a little while to settle down, but in the end they played like they were capable against the Knights (4-4-1, 1-2-1).
"Northwood did a good job of coming out playing offensive-minded. They were real compact in the middle of the field, so we had to get out wide. It took us a little while to settle down but we got it figured out," Posey said.
Wayland's first goal came about 25 minutes into the match when the Pioneers got the ball out wide to
Cerila Zamarripa, who played a low cross in front of the goal for
Jessica Bell who was able to deflect the ball in and give WBU a 1-0 lead.
The Pioneers' next goal came about 10 minutes later after the Knights committed a foul in the middle of the pitch.
"They fouled us in the middle of the field about 35 yards out in front of the goal," Posey said. "
Camille Borneo took the shot for us. She had a real nice shot that beat their keeper on the right side of the goal."
Borneo's goal gave the Pioneers a 2-0 advantage, which the Pioneers held going into the half.
After the teams switched sides for the second half the Knights owned the wind advantage, and they pushed hard to try and come back against Wayland.
"They had the wind in the second half," Posey said. "They really pushed us, but the girls stood their ground. We had to use pretty much everyone today to get the job done."
Northwood was able to find the net in the second half with a play almost identical to the one that resulted in Pioneers' second goal. Wayland committed a foul in the middle of the pitch, giving the Knights a free kick.
Karyn Forbes took the kick for the Knights and beat Wayland keeper
Keri Myers, cutting the Pioneer lead in half, 2-1.
The Knights continued to push throughout the entire match, but the Pioneers did not yield and walked away with a 2-1 victory.
"Northwood worked really hard to get back in the game, but our girls defended well," Posey said. "They worked really, really hard."
Posey was pleased with his squad's performance, especially without a crucial offensive player like Holland, who is injured.
"Emarie was out, but we have enough depth to move people around and they can play multiple positions. The girls worked really hard and they were willing to do what we needed them to do, and I'm really appreciative of that.
"They have a good picture of the goal that we're trying to reach and they're willing to do something different in order to help the team."
The Pioneers only have a day to recover and rest their legs before traveling to Waxahachie to take on Southwestern Assemblies of God University (2-8, 0-2). The match against the Lady Lions is set for noon Saturday.
