Box Score FORT WORTH – Teamwork was the name of the game for the Wayland Baptist men's soccer team here Tuesday.
"We played as a team. That's why we got the result we did tonight," WBU coach
Cristhian Ospina said after the Pioneers registered a 1-0 Sooner Athletic Conference victory over Texas Wesleyan.
Yago Xavier scored his second goal of the season in the 62
nd minute to keep Wayland (10-5 overall, 4-3 SAC) in the thick of the conference race. The Pioneers are one of four teams – along with No. 13 Science and Arts of Oklahoma, Southwestern Christian and Oklahoma Baptist – with four SAC wins, all trailing league-leader Oklahoma City (6-3-2, 5-0-1). OCU escaped OBU on Tuesday, 4-3 in double overtime.
Wayland's win left Texas Wesleyan (5-6-2, 3-3-0) alone in sixth place.
"This was a good win. They are a really, really hard team to beat, especially at their house," Ospina said.
Wayland's win followed a disappointing 2-1 overtime loss at home Saturday to John Brown. Instead of dwelling on that outcome, the Pioneers responded with what Ospina called one of their most team-oriented performances of the season.
"If we play like this every game, I'm pretty sure we can win all the rest," the coach said.
Wayland held a 20-12 advantage in shots and a commanding 12-1 edge in shots on-goal.
"John (WBU goalkeeper
John-Ramses Thomas) and the defense did a great job," Ospina said.
Javier Parry had four shots for the Pioneers, including three on goal, while
Mamadou Sanon also got off four attempts, two of which were on target. Esequiel Amestoy ended with two shots on-goal as well.
Xavier's unassisted goal resulted from his lone shot of the evening taken inside the box with pressure by the goalkeeper, and it drew rave reviews from Ospina.
"It was a great individual play by him," the coach said. "It takes a lot of skill to score a goal like that."
Ospina said it took a team effort like Wayland put forth in order to come up with the win.
"That team is really organized, and their style of play is really hard to beat," he said. "We did it by working hard.
"I'm really proud of the guys."
Only two matches remain in the regular-season for Wayland. The first is at 3 p.m. Saturday at Oklahoma Baptist, followed by a 6 p.m. home match on Oct. 31 against Southwestern Christian.
The Pioneers are trying to finish the regular-season as one of the top four teams, ensuring them a home match in the first round of the SAC Tournament.
Ospina said it's going to go down to the wire.
"As competitive as our conference is," he said, "it won't be decided until the last game."
