FORT WORTH – Just three days after accomplishing something for the first time in program history, the Wayland Baptist women's soccer team did it again.
Megan Attenborough scored early in the second half for the only score of the match as the Pioneers defeated Texas Wesleyan, 1-0, in Tuesday night's semifinals of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament.
"It was a heart-thumper, maybe even more than the John Brown game," Wayland coach
Shiloh Posey said. "All the pieces came together again, and it was fun to see."
The win sends Wayland (7-6-3), seeded seventh, into the championship match against ninth-ranked, top-seeded Science & Arts of Oklahoma (19-1), which advanced with lopsided wins over Central Christian, 8-1, and Mid-America Christian, 7-0.
The winner of Friday's final, to be played in Chickasha, Okla., at a time to be determined, automatically advances to the NAIA National Championships.
If Wayland wins, it would be more school history as the first time the Pioneers have made it all the way to the national tourney. At this point, not many would be surprised if Wayland finds a way to get it done.
The Pioneers made history when they got off to a 6-1-2 start, their best ever. Wayland then lost five straight, though, which made the team's 4-3 shootout victory after a 1-1 double-overtime tie with John Brown in the first round of the SAC Tournament somewhat improbable. It marked the first time the Pioneers experienced a "win" against the Golden Eagles in 19 all-time meetings.
Posey said there has been a "mental shift" in his team's collective mindset in the playoffs.
"We went into John Brown thinking we have everything to gain, then after beating them there's this belief there now," the coach said.
So Wayland took the field in Fort Worth on a 40-degree, mostly calm evening looking for its first-ever conference tournament semifinal win, having dropped its two other appearances in 2015 to USAO, 2-1, and in 2013 to John Brown when WBU tied the Golden Eagles 2-2 but lost the shootout, 4-3.
"You could sense this hunger to play," Posey said. "Right from the start they got after it. We really pressed on them from the very beginning. The girls wanted it very badly tonight."
The Pioneers controlled play much of the evening against Texas Wesleyan (13-6), which shut out Southwestern Christian in its quarterfinal match, 4-0.
Wayland wound up taking 29 shots compared to only 10 for the Rams, and the Pioneers had 15 shots on-goal versus only five for TXWES. It was the second-most shots taken all season, behind only the 48 fired in a 10-0 blowout of Oklahoma-Panhandle State.
"I've never done that against Texas Wesleyan," Posey said of the offensive aggressiveness. "It's not that all of our shots were good chances, but the girls were willing."
Team scoring leader
Taylor Moore – Wayland's lone all-conference player – actually matched the Rams' shot total by taking 10 all by herself, including four on-goal, but the senior made her presence felt most when she assisted Attenborough.
Attenborough, who scored Wayland's lone goal in its tie with John Brown and also connected in the shootout, notched her fifth goal of the season 4:29 after halftime.
Posey said Moore was played a ball to her feet on the right wing by the corner flag.
"She hit a really nice cross, and it looked it would almost be too long, but it started to fall and Megan made a run to the back post and beat her defender. Then she just kind of pushed it with her body" past TXWES keeper Christy Zwart, the reigning NAIA National Defensive Player of the Week who collected 17 saves in two wins last week.
"We were able to take advantage of that one opportunity, and from there on we didn't get frantic. The girls did their jobs well. If we didn't play better than at John Brown, I would say just as good."
WBU goalkeeper
Maci Merket and the Pioneer defense made the lone goal stand up, including turning away "a couple of scares" in the first half by the Rams' Tameir Grosvenor, who is second in the SAC with 30 goals. Grosvenor took seven shots against the Pioneers, including three on-target.
Posey gave a heartfelt thanks to his bench players.
"I want to brag on the girls who didn't play, or played very little. Just like they did at John Brown, I don't think any of them ever sat down. They cheered their teammates all night from start to finish. That means as much to me as anything. These girls care about each other and care about the success of the group as a whole. They're willing to play, not play, cheer, whatever.
"I want to give them a huge thank you. They shut down John Brown's crowd and they shut down Texas Wesleyan's crowd. What they do keeps the girls on the field playing. I'm really grateful to those young ladies. They are the backbone of this team and deserve as much credit as anyone."
Looking ahead to Friday's match at USAO, the Drovers will go in having won nine straight, including a 7-0 victory over Wayland on Nov. 2 in Chickasha. USAO's only conference setback was in its second match to John Brown, 1-0.
Against SAC regular- and post-season competition, the Drovers have outscored their opponents, 64-6.
Posey said the Drovers are "scary good.
"We're going to give it everything we have. We have everything to gain. Would I say logically we'd win? Probably not, but it's like my wife said, it's like our girls have wings on their feet."
So who knows? In a year of firsts for the Pioneers, who's to say they don't have at least one more in them?
"I feel this is a little like Gideon's army in the Bible. The girls are playing their guts out, and what's neat is they're doing it for each other."
