Robert Ssejjemba and the Wayland Baptist men's soccer team wasn't sure what to expect from Oklahoma-Panhandle State when the teams met Tuesday at Hilliard Field in their Sooner Athletic Conference opener.
Because this is OPSU's first season playing soccer, Ssejjemba said the Pioneers took a "cautious approach" against the Aggies, who came in with just as many wins – four – as Wayland.
"We had mixed feelings before the game. Because they are a new team, we didn't know exactly who the opponent was. We saw good results on their end, so we were very careful in our approach," Ssejjemba said. "We prepared for their best."
It took a bit for the three-time defending SAC regular-season champion Pioneers to figure out the Aggies, but once they did Wayland rolled to a 6-0 victory to remain undefeated on the season.
"I'm glad it turned out the way we talked about," said Ssejjemba, whose team improved to 5-0-2.
Senior
James Westfield recorded a hat trick to tie the program record of three goals in a match accomplished four times previously.
Westfield got Wayland on the board with his first goal in the 37
th minute, then did it again 2½ minutes later.
"We were cautious in our approach in the first 20 minutes," Ssejjemba said. "Our goal was to dominate the ball in set pieces. We know we have good headers on the ball, so we wanted to dominate that part of the game."
It took the Pioneers just 47 seconds into the second half to score their third goal, by Senior
Santiago Pereyra. Junior
Nick Ramos, with an assist by senior Eric Luzanilla, made it 4-0 four minutes later, then Westfield got his hat trick thanks in part to a beautiful assist by fellow senior
Adir Versano, his second helper of the match.
Sophomore
Gerardo Perdomo finished off the scoring in the 66
th minute.
"When you get a couple of goals that's a blessing. We want to use everyone and keep the spirits high," Ssejjemba said. "It worked out the way we wanted it to."
The Pioneers outshot the Aggies (4-2-1, 0-1 SAC), 34-3. Nineteen of WBU's shots were on-goal, while none of OPSU's were as
Gonzalo Santa and
Juan Basabe combined for the shutout.
"I was glad to keep a clean sheet. That's always good for confidence," Ssejjemba said following the Pioneers' fourth blanking of the season.
WBU next takes the field for what Ssejjemba called his team's biggest game so far
next Tuesday at home against No. 24 Mid-America Christian (6-1), which opens SAC play in Oklahoma City on Friday against John Brown (5-2).
Ssejjemba said MACU-JBU should be "a firecracker of a game" between two perennial powerhouses.
"We have a big game coming up next week, so we will try to build on this, on the good things we're doing," the coach said. "We'll look at tape and see some of the things we need to improve on.
"We're excited to play (MACU)," he added. "Sometimes when you have a long layoff it kind of breaks your rhythm, so we'll have to guard against that."
MACU handed the Pioneers half of their four losses last season, 1-0 during the regular season in OKC then 2-1 in Plainview in the SAC Tournament semifinals.
