Box Score
Despite being thrown a curve ball, Hector Haros and the Pioneers didn't blink.
Haros, a junior, stepped in at goalkeeper at the last minute and helped 21
st-ranked Wayland Baptist's men's soccer team to a 2-1 Sooner Athletic Conference win over Central Christian College (Kan.) on a misty Saturday afternoon at Hilliard Field, 2-1.
"Hector did well. I think (playing today) took him a little bit by surprise," WBU coach
Cristhian Ospina said.
Haros who took over when Ziggy Camejo was deemed unable to go during warm-up. The rest of the Pioneers' defense stepped up their game and helped out Haros by allowing the Eagles to get off only three shots. Wayland ended with 16 shots, seven on-goal.
The win was Wayland's seventh straight, one short of a program record set in 2013.
The Pioneers and Eagles went into the game with identical 7-1 records, and conference newcomer Central Christian proved a worthy opponent.
The Pioneers (8-1, 2-0 SAC) scored just 4:44 into the match when Cooper Gaypia found the net from close range on a feed by Lochlan Reus. It was Gaypia's team-best fifth goal of the season.
"We came out strong," Ospina said. "The first 10-15 minutes of the game we played well."
But Ospina felt his team's play fell off after that.
"As soon as we scored the first goal we dropped a level and relaxed too much. We lost our intensity."
The Tigers took advantage and evened the match just 43 seconds before halftime when Haros, who improved to 3-0, came out high and was beaten by the SAC's top scorer, Joshua Taylor. It was Taylor's 13
th goal of the season.
"We conceded a goal that we shouldn't have. I was really disappointed in that," Ospina said. "I was glad it happened now and not in the coming week when we have a really tough opponent."
Fortunately, the Pioneers recovered and, just like in the first half, scored 4:44 into the action in the second half. James Quinn fed
Raheem Fleming who put in his second goal of the season on a shot from 15 yards.
Gaypia wound up with five shots for Wayland while Federico Ucar had three. Both players had two on-goal.
"We have to work on being consistent and don't give goals away," Ospina said. "We have to maintain our level of play no matter who we play. I didn't feel we had any urgency today."
The Pioneers should have plenty of urgency next week as they travel to Arkansas to take on John Brown (5-3-1, 1-0-1) at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Golden Eagles, ranked the equivalent of 28
th, tied Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth on Saturday, 2-2.
"We have to prepare well for this week," Ospina said. "It's no secret we're playing one of the best teams in the nation. They beat the No. 1 and No. 3 teams."
John Brown went on the road to defeat both No. 3 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), 2-1, and former top-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan, by the same score.
"Our game with John Brown will let us know where we stand," Ospina said. "It will probably be our toughest game to this point. I like playing them, but it will be tough at their place. It should be a really, really good game."
