Women's soccer marks more firsts with 3-0 shutout win

Box Score
Seems like every time the Wayland Baptist women's soccer team takes the pitch these days records fall and the club does something for the first time in school history.
 
On Tuesday afternoon at J.V. Hilliard Field, the Pioneers recorded their first-ever three-match Sooner Athletic Conference win streak and reached double-digit victories for the first time in school history.
 
"I felt overall the girls played hard today," Wayland coach Shiloh Posey said, adding that any conference win is huge.
 
Wayland improved to 10-4 overall and 5-1 in the conference, while the Cavaliers slipped to 5-6-1 and 0-5.
 
The Pioneers took a 2-0 lead in the first 15 minutes of the match on goals by Tori Nimtz and Haley Reiser.
 
Nimtz notched her first goal of the season just 4:13 into the action when she netted a shot from outside the box on the right side that floated over the St. Gregory's goalkeeper's head.
 
Reiser's third goal of the season came 15 minutes into play as she took a pass from Jessica Bell and scored from 15 yards away.
 
"I feel like the first 15 minutes of the game we played very , very well," Posey said. "Then as the game went on I feel like maybe we didn't do the things we were supposed to be doing as much."
 
With a two-goal cushion, though, that didn't matter to the outcome of the match.
 
Emarie Holland, who hadn't played Wayland's last two matches and didn't play the first half due to a knee strain, found herself back in the mix in the second half and promptly tallied her 13^th goal of the season, adding to her school record. Holland picked up the ball on the right side near midfield, dribbled past a couple of defenders and hit a laser lower ball into the left corner of the goal.
 
Wayland ended with a 30-8 edge in shots. A dozen of the Pioneers' were on target while Myers ended with three saves before exiting the match late in favor of fellow freshman Kasey Hayes to record Wayland's second straight shutout and third of the season.
 
"I thought all of the girls contributed again," Posey said. "They did what we asked them to do."
 
The match was played in breezy, cool conditions.
 
"I thought the wind created a few problems. The ball bounced funny," Posey said. "But the girls didn't get upset or unfocused by it too badly. They kept their heads and continued to play."
 
The Pioneers were without freshman center-back Camille Borneo, who Posey opted to rest due to an ankle injury.
 
"Our next three matches are going to be really, really tough, so we decided to let Camille heal and take it easy with Emarie," Posey said.
 
The Pioneers, who are tied atop the SAC standings with (RV) Oklahoma Baptist, make the long journey to Siloam Springs, Ark., to face John Brown University (8-3, 3-1) at noon Saturday before returning home to take on Texas Wesleyan (8-1-2, 2-1-1) and OBU (7-5, 5-1) in their final two regular-season home matches. Wayland's final pre-playoff contest is in Bethany, Okla., against Southwestern Christian (8-3-1, 2-2) on Nov. 2.
 
"This will be a big stretch (of games) for us," Posey said. "They're all winnable, we're just going to have to be sharp. They're all tough teams and have all done well, so we're going to have to play mentally tough and be sharp on the field. We have to do the things we know to be doing and do them well."