Box Score BETHANY, Okla. – In the 10-year history of the Wayland Baptist women's soccer program, the Pioneers have never hosted a Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament match. All that changed Saturday when WBU secured the third spot in the SAC standings with a dominating 5-0 win over Southwestern Christian University.
Wayland (12-6, 7-3 SAC) twice has qualified for the SAC Tournament, including last year, but the Pioneers have yet to win match. With the win over the Lady Eagles (9-9-1, 3-8-0), WBU put itself in a good position to change that.
The Pioneers knew going into Saturday's match that a win would be no easy task. Southwestern Christian upset fourth-place Oklahoma Baptist, 1-0, on Wednesday, a team Wayland beat on a late, game-winning kick off the foot of
Emarie Holland. After Saturday's win, head coach
Shiloh Posey knew that his squad's performance was something special.
"Everybody got to play today, and they all made a good contribution to the win," Posey said. "Today, we were able to create space and attack those spaces, putting Southwestern on their heels, then we just took advantage of the opportunities that we had. We did all the little things right today."
Wayland's first goal came about six minutes into the match when the Pioneers played a ball from the left side of the box into
Zoe Benson, who took advantage of her height and headed the ball in, giving WBU a 1-0 lead.
Holland, Wayland's leading scorer, put the Pioneers up 2-0 with a left-footed shot from the 18-yard marker. The senior from Burkburnett dribbled into scoring range and put the ball into the bottom, right corner of the goal.
The Pioneers' third goal of the half came from
Annysa Plata. On the left side of the box, Plata kicked what appeared to be a cross, but the ball continued to drift toward the goal and eventually went over the keeper. Plata's second goal of the season gave WBU a 3-0 halftime lead.
With a big lead, Posey's squad kept up the pressure and put the game further out of reach 13 minutes into the second half.
Madison Abbott took a beautiful kick just beyond the 18-yard marker, curving the ball into the left corner of the goal and giving Wayland a 4-0 lead.
Wayland's final goal again came off the foot of Holland when she got the ball inside the box and rolled it past the diving keeper's hands. Holland's second goal of the match and 17th of the season (extending her school record) put Southwestern down for good, 5-0.
The win leaves Wayland in third place in the conference standings, securing a first-round home match on Saturday, Nov. 9. A time and opponent will be announced sometime next week.
Posey could not be more pleased with the way his team played this season and said that earning a postseason home match shows how hard the squad has worked.
"Earning a home match is confirmation of the development and work that we've put in and the way that the kids have played," he said. "The girls are the ones who win the games, and their record is a testament to how hard they've worked.
"These girls really believe that they can win; they're not just going out there hoping to get lucky. Even if a game isn't going well for them, they continue to battle and believe they can change the situation at any given time."
