Box Score
FORT WORTH – Wayland Baptist fell behind 1-0, but
James Quinn and the rest of the Wayland Baptist men's soccer team had too much to play for not to rally.
With Quinn either scoring or assisting on all but one, Wayland scored the next four goals as the No. 23 Pioneers rallied past Texas Wesleyan here Saturday night, 4-1.
"We looked pretty good. I was happy with our performance," Wayland coach
Cristhian Ospina said. "All the guys played really well. How we're playing right now is how we want them to play."
The win moves WBU closer to a second straight Sooner Athletic Conference championship.
If the Pioneers (13-2-1, 7-1-1 SAC) win Monday afternoon in Waxahachie against last-place Southwestern Assemblies of God (1-12-3, 0-8-1), that would move Wayland ahead of 24
th-ranked Southwestern Christian (14-4, 8-2), which fell to Bacone on Thursday, 2-1 in overtime. The Eagles ended their regular-season Friday with a 2-0 road win over John Brown.
"Everything is in our hands," Ospina said. "We have to get the result, and playing on the road is never easy. so we have to be smart about how we approach this game."
Wayland won its first-ever conference title in men's soccer last season, then went on to claim its first SAC Tournament championship and first bid to NAIA Nationals.
On Saturday against ninth-place Texas Wesleyan (4-10-1, 2-6-1), Wayland found itself trailing after Anthony Atilola scored in the 31
st minute to give the Rams a 1-0 lead.
"I was confident we would come back," Ospina said
With an assist from
Ricardo Ramos, Quinn got the equalizer with his fourth goal of the season with just over four minutes to go before halftime.
"Scoring before the half was really big," Ospina said. "That gave us some momentum back and allowed us to readjust things at halftime.
"From there we just took it to them in the second half We had possession from the beginning; we dominated the whole time. It was just a matter of putting the goals in."
A little more than two minutes after the half,
Alex Castillo recorded the game-winner, his third goal of the year.
Assisted by
Federico Ucar, Quinn made it 3-1 with his fifth goal of the year at the 60-minute mark. Then, with Quinn assisting,
James Westfield put in another insurance goal – his team-leading eighth – in the 78
th minute. It was the second straight game for Quinn to scratch, and Westfield's fourth and fifth goals in three outings.
Wayland outshot the Rams, 23-7, including 11-2 shots on-goal. Quinn fired five shots and Westfield four.
