Box Score
If opposing teams don't score,
Cristhian Ospina knows his Wayland Baptist men's soccer team can't lose.
Well, teams aren't scoring much these days against the 21
st-ranked Pioneers, and, sure enough, WBU isn't losing.
"I'm glad we're scoring goals, but what makes me happier is we're not conceding goals," Ospina said after the Pioneers opened Sooner Athletic Conference action Tuesday afternoon at J.V. Hilliard Field with a convincing 4-0 victory over Mid-America Christian.
James Westfield scored twice and recorded an assist and
Federico Ucar logged two assists to lead Wayland (7-1, 1-0 SAC) on offense, and goalkeeper
Ziggy Camejo registered a pair of saves for a Pioneer defense that posted its sixth shutout of the season. Wayland's only win that hasn't been a shutout was a 4-1 victory over Our Lady of the Lake in the Pioneers' most recent outing eight days earlier.
On a rain-slickened field and in a match moved two hours ahead to try to avoid more showers,
Ricardo Ramos came off the bench to score the first goal some 33½ minutes in on a cross from the right side by Westfield.
"(MACU) had a couple of chances, and had they scored first it could have been a different game," Ospina said.
It was Ramos' fourth goal of the season, tying him for team-high honors with
Cooper Gaypia.
Westfield eventually joined them with four goals, first getting his third in the 72
nd minute on a rocket blast from the right side.
Just three minutes later,
James Quinn made it 3-0 on a penalty kick for his second goal of the season.
Westfield struck again with seven minutes left on a beautiful combination that saw Ucar pop up the ball over a defender's head before Westfield sent it home.
"I'm happy all the guys who come in from the bench do a good job. Everybody is at the same level," Ospina said.
MACU got off just six shots compared to Wayland's 18, half of which were on-goal.
It was the fourth win in as many decisions for Camejo, and his third shutout.
"I'm happy we got the result we did, but we still have to work on a lot of things. We're not to the point where we want the team yet," Ospina said.
In particular, the coach said the Pioneers must get more consistent play.
"I was not happy at all with the first 15-20 minutes of the second half. We lost possession of the ball and were not playing our best. We have to find a way to be consistent the entire game. We also need to be smart and manage the game a little better with a lead.
"There are some things like that we need to adjust."
Next up for Wayland is a bit of an unknown in conference newcomer Central Christian College, Kan., which comes to Plainview for a 1 p.m. matchup Saturday in what will be the school's first Sooner Athletic Conference competition. In a bit of a shakeup, the WBU men will play before the women, who take the field for the second game of the doubleheader.
Central Christian and Wayland will go into the match with identical 7-1 records.
"They have a good record and seem to have a strong team," Ospina said. "We don't have a lot of information on them because they're new (to the SAC), but we'll prepare like any other game. We just have to be ourselves and not worry too much about what they do."
Ospina said the Pioneers, who remained No. 21 in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 for the third consecutive poll when it was released today, must keep their eyes focused on the future.
"We need to put this win behind us. Conference gets tougher and tougher every match," he said. "(Central Christian) is going to try to beat us. As the defending conference champion and being ranked, we have a target on our back. We know every team will come and give us their best, so we have to be ready to respond to that."
