Box Score
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – The Wayland Baptist University women's soccer team has faced some quality opponents so far this season, including Friday's match against NCAA Division II Southwestern Oklahoma State. The Pioneers fell to the 24th-ranked Lady Bulldogs, 3-0, in WBU's final pre-conference contest.
Wayland (5-3) got off to a rough start and the Pioneers were never able to recover. The Lady Bulldogs got off two quick shots five minutes into the match before eventually scoring at the eight-minute mark. Following a corner kick by Alexis Russell, Natalie Crosslin headed in the first goal of the match, giving SWOSU a 1-0 lead.
Just 2 1/2 minutes later, Southwestern (3-1-1) put in another header, this time courtesy of Miranda Balezentis. The sophomore from Tulsa, Okla., received a pass from Paige Doherty and beat Wayland goalkeeper Keri Myers to give Southwestern a 2-0 advantage.
Head coach Shiloh Posey credited the Lady Bulldogs with two nice headers, but thought his team could have done more to prevent them.
"The two headers off their corner kicks were nicely done," Posey said. "But we didn't do anything to hold them up. We didn't track their runners and they were able to score."
Wayland's best opportunity to score followed Balezentis' goal when senior Emarie Holland took two shots against the Lady Bulldog defense, but came up empty. Holland's first shot was wide, and Courtney Flores, SWOSU's keeper, saved the second.
The Pioneers could not get their offense going as they only got off three shots the entire match, all from Holland.
With nine minutes left in the half, Samantha Nunez scored, putting Southwestern up 3-0 before the Pioneers could head into halftime to regroup.
"We went into halftime and talked about what we needed to do," said Posey. "I think they responded well to (the plan)."
Although they would allow a final goal 15 minutes into the period, the Pioneers' defense ddi improve, allowing only nine second-half shots compared to 15 in the first half.
Posey was disappointed in the way the match turned out, but he did see some things out of his team in the match that he liked.
"When we had the ball we did what we needed to do," Posey said. "We passed and handled the ball well, but there were few chances and we didn't take advantage of those.
"We didn't concentrate the full 90 minutes. We made mental errors that you can't afford to make, especially against a team like (Southwestern).
Today wasn't how I wanted to end our pre-conference schedule, but maybe it will be a wakeup call for us. We have to be mentally prepared at every point."
Wayland has had to compete at a particularly high level to start out its season. The Pioneers have played six NCAA schools, including four D-II schools and one D-I in their last five matches. Despite its tough competition, WBU never backed down, including Friday's match against a top-25 team.
"Overall, I think that the first half of the season was positive," the Pioneers' head coach said. "There were no 'cupcake' games by any means.
"We played well against Abilene Christian (an NCAA D-I school), and it could have been our best overall match of the season even though we lost.
"The girls had to come from behind to win a couple of games, and that showed their maturity. They showed a lot of character and heart over the first half of the season. Now it's time to realize that the games that truly matter are about to start, and I think that our schedule so far has better prepared us for that."
Posey's optimism continued as he discussed his team's talent level.
"I believe this is collectively the best, most talented group that I've had. They have the physical capabilities as well as the 'team dynamic.' The girls have shown a lot of character, maturity and heart, and I hope that we take advantage of the talent we have."
Wayland will look to get off to a good start to Sooner Athletic Conference play when it takes on Mid-America Christian at 5 p.m. Friday at home. The match will be during Parent's Weekend at Wayland. For more information about Parent's Weekend click here.
