Robert Ssejjemba needed his bench to step up the past two games, and they did both times, most recently Saturday afternoon when the Wayland Baptist men's soccer team shut out Central Christian (Kan.) at Hilliard Field, 3-0.
 
"The mentality in our last two games has been fantastic considering we had injuries to five starting players. The guys coming off the bench stepped up and we never missed a beat," Ssejjemba said.
 
Wayland (7-1-2, 3-1 SAC) got a first-half goal from Hector Romero and second-half goals from Jose Hincapie and James Westfield to put away the Tigers (4-7-1, 0-4).
 
It was the fifth shutout of the season for the Pioneers, and the third for junior goalkeeper Gonzalo Santa, who did not have to make any saves due to the fine defensive play in front of him. The Tigers managed just four shots, compared to 18 for Wayland.
 
"I thought today we displayed a controlled game and we had a maturity that I have not seen all season. We moved the ball well, defended well and picked our moments going forward," Ssejjemba said.
 
Romero's unassisted goal, his third of the season, came on a free kick from some 40 yards out less than 12 minutes into the match.
 
Stefano Pesce assisted when Hincapie scored his second goal of the season. Pesce brought the ball up from the end line into the box where Hincapie drilled it from 20 yards. That goal in the 64^th minute came five minutes before Westfield notched his team-leading 12^th goal of the year on a penalty kick. Westfield, WBU's all-time goals scorer with 32, was coming off a 2-goal game in a 2-1 overtime road win on Tuesday over Southwestern Assemblies of God University.
 
Wayland gets six days off before taking the field again at 3 p.m. Oct. 19 in Siloam Springs, Ark., against John Brown University (8-2, 2-0). The Golden Eagles, ranked the equivalent of 38^th in the NAIA, had won their last five matches going into a Saturday night game at Oklahoma City. JBU then hosts upstart Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Thursday.
 
Ssejjemba said his team being able to overcome injuries and rely on bench players gives him confidence as the season progresses.
 
"With a big game coming up next week at John Brown, I like the belief built up and the feeling that anyone can help out when called on," Ssejjemba said.
 

2019 SAC Men's Soccer Standings