Box Score CHICKASHA, Okla. – The red-hot Wayland Baptist women's soccer team's season came to a close here Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament as the Pioneers fell to top-seeded Science and Arts of Oklahoma, 2-1.
Wayland coach
Shiloh Posey said it was a hard-fought match, and he couldn't be more proud of his team, even if the season ended sooner than the Pioneers wanted.
Wayland didn't go down easily to the Drovers (12-5-2). In fact, the Pioneers (7-7-3) – who lost only once in their last nine outings going into the match – played USAO even through the first half before breaking through early in the second.
"When the game started they were pressing us pretty hard, but I thought we handled it pretty well," Posey said. "Bailey (WBU keeper
Bailey Stengler) made three or four really, really spectacular saves to keep it 0-0, and the girls played good defense in front of her."
Wayland took a 1-0 lead when
Jodian Morris continued her torrid scoring pace with a goal in the 50
th minute. Morris played a through ball by
Annysa Plata with a hard run up the left side to give the Pioneers the upper hand.
"Jodian scored a really nice goal," Posey said.
The goal extended the senior Morris' team record for goals in a season to 19.
Wayland's lead lasted less than six minutes, however, as USAO's Ryah Vyse, after an intercepted pass, deep on Wayland's side of the pitch, went one-on-one with Stengler and recorded an unassisted equalizer.
The Pioneers got a prime scoring chance from senior
Tori Nimtz, but the shot ended up just side of the post.
"She got a ball in the middle of the field and had a nice shot on-goal, but just couldn't get it to go," Posey said.
The game-winner came in the 80
th minute on a shot by Khassandra Hameg following a left-cross from Bianca Cardenas.
Wayland began pressing after that, but to no avail.
"We started pushing people forward in the last 10 minutes to try to get a goal back, but it just didn't happen for us tonight," Posey said.
Wayland was outshot, 22-7, with the Drovers getting 12 of their shots on goal compared to Wayland's two.
USAO advances to play either Oklahoma City or John Brown, which met in the other semifinal, in the tournament championship match.
The Pioneers, meanwhile, can look back fondly on a season that started slowly but ended on a roll, including the program's second-ever post-season victory.
"I'm proud of them," Posey said. "Overall it's been a good season. It was a season of improvement and consistent growth. Everybody understands better what we have and what we need and where we need to go from here.
"I can't say enough about the entire team, especially the group of seniors we had," the coach added. "I'm grateful to see them as part of our program and the success that they've had. They'll leave big shoes to fill, but we're going to do everything we can to keep improving and to honor the history that we've begun to develop."
