Women's soccer secures one of biggest wins in program history over No. 16 USAO

With a dozen of them to her credit, Taylor Moore has had a good many impressive goals this season. But maybe none have been more remarkable, or meaningful, than the one she got Tuesday night to lift Wayland Baptist women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over No. 16 University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
 
Moore scored from a near-impossible angle in the 58^th minute, and the Pioneers went on to secure the Sooner Athletic Conference win over the highest-ranked opponent in program history.
 
"I'm really, really proud of the team," Wayland coach Shiloh Posey said.
 
The much-needed upset not only ended a three-game slide and gave Wayland its second-most wins in school history but might have kept alive the Pioneers' hopes of finishing in the top four of the league standings. With just one regular-season match remaining Saturday at Southwestern Christian (7-7-1, 1-5 SAC), the Pioneers (9-5-1, 4-3) are tied with Central Christian (11-6, 4-3) for fifth place but just a half-game behind fourth-place USAO (12-4-1, 4-2-1) in the tightly-bunched standings. USAO and Central Christian face off Friday in the final regular-season match for both teams.
 
"We took a huge step in giving ourselves a chance to control our own destiny," Posey said. "There are a lot of factors still at play, so we'll see."
 
Moore scored her team-best 13^th goal shortly after a throw-in from in front of the Wayland bench. The junior transfer from San Angelo dribbled the ball up the right side of the penalty area and shot just a few feet from the end line.
 
"The angle she shot was really, really sharp. She was almost on the end line, within three or four steps," Posey said. "She put just enough height on it that it got over their keeper's head by maybe a couple to three inches.
 
"I don't know how it made it to the back of the net but it did. We'll definitely take it however it got there."
 
It's Wayland's third victory over a ranked opponent in the last five years. The Pioneers' other wins over Top 25 teams also were 1-0 and both were over Oklahoma City: in 2015 when the Stars were ranked No. 23 and in 2014 when the Stars were 18^th.
 
USAO, which scored eight goals against Southwestern Assemblies of God University in its most recent match, was shut out for the first time all season. The Drovers got off twice as many shots as Wayland, 18-9, but Pioneer keeper Kaitlyn Brantzeg tallied eight saves to record her third and WBU's fifth shutout of the season.
 
The Pioneers managed to keep Emma Rice, the SAC's top goal scorer with 15, quiet, although she took eight shots, including three on-goal.
 
As for Wayland, Posey said he thought Wayland would get a goal about 90 seconds before halftime.
 
"The ball was ping-ponging around in front of their goal, but it kind of caught Megan (Attenborough) by surprise and she couldn't get anything on it. That could have been a real momentum change for us, but thankfully it worked out."
 
Thanks in large part to Moore, who fired five of WBU's nine shots, all but three of which were on-target.
 
"Taylor put in great effort, even helping to defend the front of the field which helped us win some balls. But everybody did that," Posey said.
 
"The team overall did a great job," the coach added. "We were able to use several people beyond the starting 11, and everybody did the job we asked them to do. Even the girls on the bench. Their attitude was positive and their encouragement was absolutely needed.
 
"We talked before the game about 'What kind of environment do you want to create?' Tonight that environment was what we want to see all the time."
 
Wayland had dropped its last five meetings against USAO, including 5-0 last season when the Drovers were ranked No. 23. Tuesday's win boosted the Pioneers' all-time record against the perennial powers from Chickasha, Okla., to 4-14.
 
On a day when seniors Julianna Christensen-Montgomery and Audrey Sierra-Bogan were honored before kickoff, Posey couldn't say enough about how the win was a team effort.
 
"If all 27 of them didn't give their best effort every day in practice to help make each other better, the quality of the team would not be as good as it is. I give a lot of credit to each of them. Each is a valuable link in the chain of our team.
 
"I'm very pleased with each individual and the aspects they bring to the team. Everybody brings something a little different and it helps make us who we are."

2018 NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll – Poll Eight (Oct. 23)

RANK LAST WEEK SCHOOL RECORD FINAL POINTS 1 2 William Carey (Miss.) [17] 14-1 498 2 3 Southeastern (Fla.) 14-1-1 475 3 1 Spring Arbor (Mich.) 13-1-1 464 4 4 Vanguard (Calif.) [1] 12-1 445 5 5 Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 13-1-1 438 6 6 Keiser (Fla.) 14-2-1 426 7 7 John Brown (Ark.) 12-2-1 400 8 8 Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 14-2 385 9 9 Benedictine (Kan.) 13-1-2 376 10 12 Westmont (Calif.) 11-1-2 347 11 17 Marian (Ind.) 10-3-3 326 12 19 Georgia Gwinnett 11-3 302 13 13 Hastings (Neb.) 11-0-3 297 14 10 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 6-3-2 290 15 15 Cumberland (Tenn.) 14-2 261 16 11 Oklahoma Wesleyan 9-3-1 253 17 14 Mobile (Ala.) 10-5 251 18 20 Midland (Neb.) 11-1-2 226 19 16 Science & Arts (Okla.) 12-3-1 222 20 22 University of Northwestern Ohi 10-3-3 186 21 23 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 13-1-1 172 22 24 Cumberlands (Ky.) 15-1-1 153 23 18 Trinity Christian (Ill.) 15-1 144 24 21 Grace (Ind.) 15-2 138 25 NR Ottawa (Kan.) 13-2 126 Dropped from the Top 25: The Master's (Calif.) Others Receiving Votes: Eastern Oregon 80, Columbia (Mo.) 62, Central Methodist (Mo.) 50, Truett-McConnell (Ga.) 29, Oklahoma City 21, Taylor (Ind.) 20, The Master's (Calif.) 19, St. Thomas (Texas) 18, Concordia (Neb.) 14, Kansas Wesleyan 7, Madonna (Mich.) 3