Box Score On a night when the Wayland Baptist men's soccer team had to play as a team, they did…and they won!
Playing a man down for about three-fourths of the match, Wayland still managed to pull out a victory, getting a penalty kick goal from
Yago Xavier for a 1-0 Sooner Athletic Conference victory over Mid-America Christian on Saturday night at J.V. Hilliard Field.
"We showed whenever we play as a team we get good results," WBU coach
Cristhian Ospina said.
Xavier scored his third goal of the season on a PK in the 73
rd minute following a foul called on
Alex Castillo, who was clear on a breakaway. Xavier put it the ball in the lower-left part of the goal, past diving MACU goalkeeper Tyler McIntosh to give the win to the Pioneers (6-3-2 overall, 2-2 SAC).
"I am really proud of the guys. Their effort was huge tonight," Ospina said. "To win with all the circumstances in the game (MACU drew six yellow cards while WBU had a red and two yellows)…
"They didn't score on us, which is always good but especially playing a man down."
MACU (5-4-1, 1-1-1) took 12 shots, five of which were on goal. But WBU keeper
Palemon Plancarte proved up to the task as he stopped all of them for his fourth shutout of the season.
Wayland put up 11 shots – four each by Xavier and
Arturo Valle-Sardaneta. Three were on target.
"This win is really good for us. (MACU) is really good. They'll probably finish in the top-five in the conference," Ospina said. "This will really help us in the long run."
Wayland, which now stands fifth in the SAC, just behind Texas Wesleyan and just ahead of MACU, next play at 3 p.m. Oct. 17 in Waxahachie against Southwestern Assemblies of God University. The Lions (5-7-1, 0-4) are tied for last in the league, having lost to Texas Wesleyan on Saturday, 2-1.
"This is a good win," Ospina said, "but we have to think about the next game."
