Box Score SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. – Wayland Baptist recorded one if its most impressive wins of the season here Thursday night as the No. 22 Pioneers stayed atop the Sooner Athletic Conference standings by blanking John Brown University, 4-0.
"It was a really good win against a really good team," WBU coach
Cristhian Ospina said after the victory over the Golden Eagles, ranked the equivalent of 26
th in the NAIA. "Our guys played with a lot of heart and a lot of character. They were smart the way they did it."
The win, the eighth straight for Wayland (9-1, 3-0 SAC), matched a program record first accomplished in 2013. The Pioneers will look to break the mark at 3 p.m. Saturday in Muskogee, Okla., where they take on Bacone (7-3, 2-1).
Wayland, which fell one spot from No. 21 in this week's Top 25 poll, broke a scoreless deadlock after 38 minutes when
James Quinn, who earlier had a shot go off the crossbar, scored his third goal of the season on a penalty kick following a foul in the box.
"For 35 minutes it was a back-and-forth game," Ospina said. "They probably had possession longer but we had better chances (to score)."
The Pioneers blew open the match by scoring three goals in a span of less than three minutes, beginning with an aggressive deflection goal by
Raheem Fleming at the 53:11 mark.
Assisted by
Nick Ramos,
Cooper Gaypia's team-leading sixth goal of the season and second in two matches made it 3-0 at 54:35. Finally, at 56:01,
Ricardo Ramos scored his fifth goal of 2017 unassisted, and the rout was officially on.
Wayland outshot the Golden Eagles, 20-11, including 9-4 on-target shots. Quinn and
Federico Ucar took four shots apiece for the Pioneers.
"We have a lot of power up top. We have five or six guys who can come in and rotate in that position," Ospina said.
Goalkeepers
Ziggy Camejo and
Hector Haros combined on the shutout, with Camejo recording three saves in the first 50 minutes, 45 seconds and Haros getting one in the final 39:15.
"Like I've said before, if we don't allow a goal, we're going to win," Ospina said. "Our keepers and all the guys in the back did a good job."
It was WBU's seventh shutout in nine victories.
The match featured 10 cards, three yellow on Wayland and five yellows and two reds on JBU.
"Our guys kept their heads for the whole 90 minutes. That's one of the main reasons we won," Ospina said. "(JBU) lost their heads and got a couple of red cards, and from there it went downhill for them."
The win is Wayland's fourth in 12 all-time meetings with JBU.
Ospina said it's important the Pioneers enjoy the victory but get back to business Friday in preparation for Bacone.
"The most important thing right now is to stay humble. This win means nothing if we go lose at Bacone."
