Goal with 35 ticks left gives Pioneers first win over OCU

The Wayland Baptist men's soccer team has seen its share of late-game goals this season. On Sunday afternoon, they finally had one go their way.
 
Mamdou Sanon scored with just 35 seconds left to lead the 14^th-ranked Pioneers to a 1-0 victory over Oklahoma City University at J.V. Hilliard Field, running Wayland's win streak to eight straight and keeping the Pioneers perfect in Sooner Athletic Conference play.
 
"We knew we had to stay focused for 90 minutes, and we came through," Sanon said after his second goal of the season lifted Wayland to its first-ever victory over OCU in the teams' fifth meeting.
 
In a game that saw both clubs come painfully close on numerous scoring chances, Wayland (8-1-1, 3-0 SAC) finally got one through when Erik Luzanilla played a free kick from near midfield into Miguel Teos, who juked his way around an OCU defender and crossed the ball into the box where Travis Somersall headed it on goal. The shot was blocked by a defender and the ball fell at the feet of Sanon, who from seven yards away calmly booted the ball past diving OCU goalkeeper Joe Shulberg.
 
"The well-placed free kick made it easy for us to crash the goalie," Sanon said. "It landed in front of me and I just took the shot."
 
Wayland coach Jamath Shoffner credited Sanon for staying composed.
 
"A lot of times players in that situation feel they need to hit it so hard that it'll go over the goal," Shoffner said.
 
Sanon, though, placed it perfectly.
 
"It was a collective team effort that got us through," he said of the win. "This shows that this team can persevere through tough times."
 
The victory came after Wayland lost by the same 1-0 score last year at OCU on a crushing goal with 3½ minutes left.  Also, Sunday's win was Wayland's first ever over OCU on the heels of three losses and one tie, and it follows the Pioneers picking up their first victory over USAO in overtime five days earlier.
 
"Oklahoma City is an experienced team with some seniors who have made a big impact on this conference," Shoffner said.
 
Wayland took 16 shots in the match – eight each half – compared to 13 for OCU. John-Ramses Thomas finished with five saves for his sixth shutout of the season. The Pioneers had a total of four shots on goal, including two by Teos.
 
"The first 10 minutes we should have had two goals," Shoffner said, alluding to missed chances by Luzanilla, who banged a missile off the post, and Vitalis Atemafac, who poked a shot just wide. "It's good that we came out strong and put ourselves in good position to score, but it was a little demoralizing because we didn't take advantage of that."
 
In the second half, the Pioneers played into a wind that Shoffner said made things a bit tougher on his squad.
 
"OCU started playing long ball and put us under a lot of pressure for about 15 or 20 minutes," he said. "They created a few chances because of that."
 
Then the Pioneers gained the upper hand and Wayland had its own chances to score, including two opportunities by Juan Sanchez and another one for Luzanilla.
 
"We just couldn't connect," Shoffner said.
 
Sanon, however, finally did.
 
"City came in here and fought to the end," Shoffner said. "They were physical with us, which took us out of some things we like to do.
 
"Every game in our conference is a battle," he added. "You have to come to play every game."
 
The Pioneers hit the road for their next two outings, taking on Northwood University (5-4, 2-1) at 5 p.m. Thursday in Cedar Hill and Southwestern Assemblies of God (3-6, 0-1) at 2 p.m. Saturday in Waxahachie.
 
"We know it'll be tough to go to Northwood," Shoffner said. "They had a very close game against (then No. 22) Texas Wesleyan (losing on the road, 3-2) and beat Mid-America Christian (4-2 in overtime) and Oklahoma Baptist (2-1 in overtime).
 
"We know any conference game on the road will be tough."
 
Sanon agreed.
 
"We still have some tough moments ahead we need to prepare for."