Pioneers advance after thrilling shootout

Box Score Tuesday night's Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament men's soccer semifinal at Hilliard Field went from a fairly routine matchup to an epic bout that will be long be remembered.
 
Wayland Baptist tied with Southwestern Christian, 2-2 in double overtime, but thanks to two huge stops from goalkeeper João Souza and by a difference-maker goal by Ross Brown, the Pioneers won the penalty kick shootout, 5-4, and advance to the conference tournament championship.
 
"It was a tough game and they definitely took us to the limit," Pioneer coach Cristhian Ospina said. "I'm really proud of these guys and I had confidence in them. If they keep playing and fighting like that, the sky is the limit."
 
What added to Tuesday's matchup was the earlier contest in which the Eagles defeated the Pioneers, 1-0. Fortunately for WBU, the match was given back to them because of an ineligible player on the Eagles' roster.
 
"It feels amazing," Ospina said of earning redemption with the postseason win. "This is the same team that tied against us in 2013 (when he was a player) and took away our first regular-season title. Every time we play this team it's a tough game. For us to beat them, at this point in the season and in this way, it feels amazing."
 
Wayland (13-3-3), ranked the equivalent of 28^th in the NAIA, came out of the gate a little sluggish. SCU (10-5-4) controlled the possession and tempo early and received a tough goal from Jeremy Vejie in the 11th minute.
 
The Pioneers answered with a strike from team-leader Guillermo Deal to tie the match in the 23^rd minute. Deal's 13^th goal of the season, off an assist from Taval Whittaker, extended his program record.
 
With time winding down in the first half, a surge from Eagle Walton Domingos lured keeper Souza out of the net and the ball was narrowly pushed past WBU's Oraine Tomlinson in the 37^th minute to put SCU up 2-1.
 
Inspired play for the Pioneers followed after the intermission.
 
Whittaker added to the tally by reaching the net from a penalty kick in the 55^th minute. It was Whittaker's 11^th goal of the season.
 
Wayland then watched as near game-winning goals went wide left, wide right, right above and off the post before the end of regulation. SCU also stopped a PK.
 
In the ensuing overtime periods, neither team reached the back of the net and the Pioneers and Eagles prepared five players to kick in the shootout.
 
Souza had injured himself late in regulation and sat out both overtime periods. Back-up Luke Holt came on and played admirably in goal, then Souza came back out for the PK session.
 
"John (Ramses-Thomas) took the decision (to play Souza) and he made the right call," Ospina said of his assistant coach. "Those are the decisions you have to make to win games."
 
Wayland's Yago Xavier, Gian Scalise and Ezequiel Amestoy made their goals to give Wayland a 3-2 lead, but the Eagles tied it when the Pioneers slipped up on kick No. 4. After Deal connected in the fifth spot for Wayland to keep the shootout even, it came down to Souza making a tremendous save then Brown sealing the deal for the Pioneers.
 
The Pioneers out-shot the Eagles, 17-11, and held an 8-5 edge in strikes on target. Souza earned three saves in regulation before the two massive stops in the one-v-one round.
 
Wayland will host the tournament championship at 5 p.m. Saturday against University of Science and Arts (Okla.). The Drovers pulled off the upset Tuesday afternoon, defeating 18^th-ranked John Brown, 2-1, in Siloam Springs (Ark.). WBU tied with USAO earlier in the season, a scoreless draw.
 
"They're a really similar team to Southwestern Christian," Ospina said of USAO. "We have to get ready for that. We kind of know how they play against them. We're going to be hungry to get the win. It's going to physical, but I'm confident in our guys."

2016 NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll - No. 8 (Nov. 8)

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)	2016 RECORD	TOTAL POINTS
1	1	Oklahoma Wesleyan (16)	18-0-1	467
2	2	Hastings (Neb.) (1)	18-0-0	452
3	3	Rio Grande (Ohio)	16-1-1	437
4	4	Davenport (Mich.)	16-1-2	420
5	5	Northwestern Ohio	15-1-3	409
6	6	Campbellsville (Ky.)	14-0-2	390
7	7	MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)	15-2-1	379
8	8	Union (Ky.)	16-2-1	361
9	10	WVU Tech	15-1-2	343
10	11	Marymount (Calif.)	14-2-1	327
11	12	Bryan (Tenn.)	15-1-3	321
12	13	Corban (Ore.)	18-2-0	294
13	14	Midland (Neb.)	16-2-1	278
14	9	Baker (Kan.)	13-4-2	277
15	15	Thomas (Ga.)	14-3-1	256
16	16	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	12-4-1	241
17	17	William Carey (Miss.)	13-2-1	222
18	18	John Brown (Ark.)	13-2-2	216
19	20	Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)	14-3-2	172
20	22	Westmont (Calif.)	10-4-1	169
21	21	Spring Arbor (Mich.)	13-3-4	161
22	19	Rocky Mountain (Mont.)	13-4-2	140
23	23	Benedictine (Kan.)	12-3-1	139
24	24	Georgia Gwinnett	11-3-3	134
25	25	Menlo (Calif.)	13-4-1	115

Dropped from rankings: None
Others Receiving Votes: Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) 71; Tennessee Wesleyan 63; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 63; Vanguard (Calif.) 43; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 20; Bellevue (Neb.) 15; Dalton State (Ga.) 13; Indiana Tech 7; UC Merced 5; Kansas Wesleyan 4.