Box Score In the nine-year history of the Wayland Baptist women's soccer program, the Pioneers had made the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament only twice, and never made it past the opening round. It is only appropriate that the Pioneers secured their first-ever postseason win in the year that could be dubbed the "season of firsts."
That season and those firsts continued Saturday night at J.V. Hilliard Field where Wayland took down the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, 1-0.
The Pioneers (13-6) have broken numerous school records in 2013, and they looked to set two more marks in one night on Saturday. Wayland was set to host USAO (6-11) in its first postseason match, but it didn't want to stop there. The Pioneers also were eying their first-ever postseason win, and they got just that in a tough, physical match against a very competitive Drover squad.
Wayland head coach
Shiloh Posey was very humbled after the match to get a win against a solid USAO team.
"Hats off to USAO," Posey said. "They've always been a tough team, and it's especially tough when you meet the same team more than once (in a season). You become familiar with each other and you know each other's strengths and weaknesses. It's a dog fight.
"I have nothing but respect for those girls we played tonight. They gave everything they had. In games like that, sometimes it comes down to one play, and thankfully the ball bounced in our favor tonight."
The Drovers flirted with the Wayland goal throughout the first half, but the Pioneers did not allow them to take the lead. USAO outshot Wayland, 10-4, in the first period, but only one shot was on target.
After halftime, USAO continued to put pressure on Wayland, but the Pioneers were able to return it and put pressure right back on the Drovers. In the 59
th minute, Wayland's hard work finally paid off.
Emarie Holland led a break toward the goal with teammate
Cerila Zamarripa and a couple of Drover defenders in the way of the target. Holland passed to Zamarripa, and the ball bounced off a couple of defenders before eventually finding its way on the opposite end of the pitch where
Jessica Bell was making a run.
"Jessica had made a run up the side of the field just like we planned," Posey described. "We made a play just like we should have, but it bounced off of their defenders right to Jessica.
"Jessica couldn't have placed the ball any more perfectly when she played it to the middle of the field to
Kendall Fraley. Kendall headed it right on the ground like she needed to and was able to give us the lead."
Fraley's third goal of the season put Wayland up with 30 minutes left to play.
"From that point on we had to dig in and play defense because we knew (USAO) was going to push hard to score," Posey said.
And push the Drovers did. USAO took five on-goal shots in the remaining minutes and another that hit the Pioneers' crossbar.
One player who stepped up big for Wayland during the Drovers' frantic offensive surge was goalkeeper
Keri Myers. The freshman faced shot after shot, many of which were from very close range, but Myers did not surrender. She had two particularly impressive saves to help the Pioneers keep the Drovers at bay.
After Myers took a kick off the face from about five feet away, USAO had yet another chance to tie the game when Linda Addo controlled the ball inside the box with less than six minutes left to play.
"The ball got played right at (Keri) and she made herself really, really big in front of the goal," Posey said. "She just threw her leg at it and happened to get a foot on that shot, then we were able to clear it out.
"Keri made some extremely tremendous saves tonight. She did everything to keep us in it, and, really, that's the kind of effort that we got from everyone tonight."
In a hard-fought battle against a tough team, Posey knew that without his entire roster a win would not have been possible.
"My heart felt gratitude after tonight's match, and it goes out to every girl on our team," he said. "No matter what position, if they played 90 minutes or just in practice, every single person helped out tonight.
"It's a great feeling to be a part of a team that works that hard for each other, and I'm glad that I'm along for the ride."
For the second time this season, Wayland will travel to Siloam Springs, Ark., on Tuesday to take on second-seeded John Brown (14-3-1), a 2-1 winner over Northwood, at a time to be announced. The Golden Eagles beat the Pioneers on Oct. 19, 3-0.
After losing in disappointing fashion, Posey said his squad is looking forward to the opportunity to play the Golden Eagles again.
"Last time we played them we made some defensive mistakes and they made us pay for it. JBU is a solid team, and Tuesday is a battle that we want to go back and fight again."
