OKLAHOMA CITY –
Ricardo Ramos and
James Quinn scored first-half goals to lift Wayland Baptist to a 2-0 win over Oklahoma City University and, in the process, to the top of the Sooner Athletic Conference standings.
"To win on the road is always hard, especially here in Oklahoma City," Wayland coach
Cristhian Ospina said. "Every game we keep improving."
While the Pioneers (10-2, 5-1), who moved up two spots to No. 11 in the latest NAIA Top 25, knocked off OCU (9-3, 4-2), two other top SAC teams – No. 18 Southwestern Christian and Mid-America Christian – both lost at home Tuesday. The Eagles fell to John Brown, 2-1, while MACU bowed to Southwestern Assemblies of God University, 1-0.
As a result, two-time defending SAC champion Wayland jumped to the top of the conference standings with three regular-season matches left. Two of those three are at home, starting with Saturday's 2 p.m. contest against last-place Bacone (0-6, 0-5). The Warriors, who got a late start to their season after the school temporarily closed this summer, has been outscored, 47-1.
"We just have to make sure we win our games. If we do that, we win (the SAC)," Ospina said. "But we just want to think about our next game right now and we'll go from there."
Against OCU, Wayland took a 1-0 lead with just under 10 minutes gone in the match. Not long after a corner kick by the Pioneers, Ramos booted in the unassisted shot from close range. It was Ramos' team-leading seventh goal of the season.
WBU went up 2-0 in the 32
nd minute when Quinn was the beneficiary of a penalty kick. It was Quinn's fourth goal of the season.
Meanwhile, the Pioneers turned in another stellar defensive performance, allowing just two shots the entire match compared to Wayland's 17, including 13 in the first half. Ramos, Quinn and
James Westfield fired four shots each, and all had two on-goal, as did
Adir Versano.
"(OCU) had a very good forward, and we took care of him and didn't give him many chances," Ospina said.
It was the ninth shutout of the season for WBU, including four in a row.
"The defense is doing a really good job. That wins championships," Ospina said. "As long as they keep doing that, I'm pretty sure we're always going to score and can make it happen.
"I'm really proud of the guys. We still have three more games, and a lot of things can happen."
2018 NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll - No. 7 (Oct. 16)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK |
SCHOOL (1st-PLACE VOTES) |
RECORD |
POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
William Carey (Miss.) (10) |
13-0-0 |
491 |
| 2 |
2 |
Oklahoma Wesleyan (7) |
11-1-0 |
488 |
| 3 |
5 |
Rio Grande (Ohio) (1) |
13-0-0 |
457 |
| 4 |
4 |
Hastings (Neb.) |
10-2-0 |
447 |
| 5 |
7 |
Central Methodist (Mo.) |
12-1-2 |
442 |
| 6 |
8 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
12-0-2 |
411 |
| 7 |
9 |
Missouri Valley |
8-2-3 |
404 |
| 8 |
10 |
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
12-1-0 |
388 |
| 9 |
6 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
10-2-1 |
365 |
| 10 |
15 |
Corban (Ore.) |
11-1-1 |
341 |
| 11 |
13 |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
9-2-0 |
337 |
| 12 |
12 |
Reinhardt (Ga.) |
10-0-2 |
323 |
| 13 |
17 |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
8-3-1 |
289 |
| 14 |
20 |
Spring Arbor (Mich.) |
12-3-0 |
250 |
| 15 |
14 |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
10-4-0 |
246 |
| 16 |
NR |
Bethel (Tenn.) |
11-3-1 |
243 |
| 17 |
19 |
Baker (Kan.) |
11-4-0 |
240 |
| 18 |
18 |
Southwestern Christian (Okla.) |
12-1-1 |
238 |
| 19 |
24 |
Southern Oregon |
12-2-1 |
227 |
| 20 |
3 |
Mobile (Ala.) |
11-3-0 |
206 |
| 21 |
23 |
University of Northwestern Ohio |
10-2-2 |
206 |
| 22 |
11 |
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
11-3-0 |
151 |
| 23 |
25 |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
10-2-0 |
137 |
| 24 |
21 |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
9-2-1 |
102 |
| 25 |
16 |
Benedictine (Kan.) |
8-4-3 |
100 |
Dropped out: Menlo (Calif.)
Receiving votes: William Woods (Mo.) 84, Arizona Christian 80, WVU Tech 37, Grace (Ind.) 33, Marymount California 28, The Master's (Calif.) 21, Indiana Tech 18, Science & Arts (Okla.) 15, Keiser (Fla.) 13, William Penn (Iowa) 13, Menlo (Calif.) 11, Kansas Wesleyan 8, Columbia (Mo.) 8, Georgia Gwinnett 6, Houston-Victoria (Texas) 5, Madonna (Mich.) 3, Point (Ga.) 3
