Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY – It might have been a case of, "Anything you can do, I can do better…or at least faster."
After the Wayland Baptist women's soccer team notched a 2-1 overtime win over Mid-America Christian University here Saturday afternoon, the WBU men followed suit, topping the Evangels by the same 2-1 margin in overtime.
And while it took just 75 seconds for the women to notch their winning goal, the Pioneer men did it in a mere 30 seconds as
Taval Whittaker connected from 30 yards out to snap Wayland's two-match skid.
"It wasn't easy, but at least we got the win…finally," Wayland coach
Cristhian Ospina said.
After being held scoreless in their previous two outings against Oklahoma City and No. 17 Science and Arts of Oklahoma, Wayland (7-4, 1-2 SAC) went the first 80 minutes of Saturday's match before getting on the board.
Trailing 1-0 after Paul Copeland scored for the Evangels (5-5, 1-1) with just under six minutes left in the first period, Wayland got the equalizer on a corner kick with 9:16 left in regulation when freshman
Alex Grattarola scored on his first shot of the season. Whittaker was credited with the assist.
"We had control of the ball most of the time, we just couldn't score," said Ospina, whose team outshot MACU 14-5, including 9-2 in shots on-goal. "We came close (to scoring) on three or four corner kicks before we finally got that one."
Ospina said the Pioneers continued being aggressive for the rest of regulation.
"We were attacking, attacking. It just wouldn't go in," the coach said.
That forced Wayland's first overtime of the season, although it didn't last long.
MACU began the extra time with possession of the ball, but the Pioneers quickly took it away.
"We pressed the ball and won it on their half," Ospina said.
From there, Whittaker got it and hit a shot from 30 yards out just 30 seconds into the 10-minute overtime.
"It was quick, real quick," Ospina said of Whittaker's sixth goal of the season. "Taval hit a clear shot into the corner of the goal. It was a great shot."
Nine Pioneers recorded shot attempts, led by
David Neuberth with four including three on goal.
Ospina said the win should boost his team, which was in danger of falling to 0-3 in SAC play.
"This helps a lot," he said. "Hopefully we can put it together and keep winning from now on."
Next up for the Pioneers is a home match at 6 p.m. Friday against Southwestern Assemblies of God University (3-3-2, 0-1), which faced Oklahoma City on Saturday night.
Ospina said his team still has a long way to go before being at the level he wants.
"We're not clicking yet. We have to keep working hard to get where we want to be."
