Soccer ladies notch another 2-1 win

It was their third straight win by the same score, 2-1, and this one may have been the biggest yet!

Aryial Garcia and Bianca Roman scored goals to power Wayland Baptist to a 2-1 victory over Mid-America Christian on Tuesday evening at Hilliard Field.

"Wow! What a game! It was a battle from the very beginning," WBU coach Shiloh Posey said.
 
Tuesday's victory was special because it came over a team higher in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings. MACU (7-5, 4-2 SAC) stands third in the league, just ahead of the Pioneers (7-4-1, 3-2-1).
 
Despite MACU controlling the ball most of the first half when the wind was at the Evangels' backs, Wayland got on the board first in the 21^st minute when a ball was played out of the midfield to Mayra Sosa, who was able to get behind MACU's defense. Sosa served a ball from near the end of the field that was missed by an Evangel defender. Wayland's Aryial Garcia made a nice run into the box and was able to put it through the pipes.
 
Wayland's lone shot of the first half resulted in Garcia's fourth goal of the season and third over the last three matches.
 
"I felt that we moved and possessed the ball well at the start of the game," Posey said. "MACU is a very good team and began to put us under pressure. I thought we handled it effectively, at least for most of the first half. There were times that were tense but, thankfully, we were able to turn the attack away.
 
"We anticipated that the pressure would come and were relying on the chance to counterattack."
 
The Evangels were able to knot it up with just 1:21 left in the first half. A ball was played behind WBU's defenders and Pioneer goalkeeper Kanda Morita came out to play it.
 
"Because it was just outside the edge of the area, she had to try and clear it up the field," Posey said.
 
MACU's Dani Duke charged the ball and got a deflection into the net.
 
The game was well-matched in the second half with both teams working hard.
 
"We had the wind and were able to take some shots from distance," Posey said.
 
The game-winning goal came after a shot by Natalie Terry hit the crossbar and bounced in front of the goal. After a brief scramble, Roman was able to put the ball away with her team-high eighth goal.
 
"The rest of the half was spent playing with everything we had in order to turn away the MACU pressure," Posey said.
 
After getting off just one shot in the first half, the Pioneers fired 10 in the second half to match MACU's 11 shots. Five of Wayland's offerings were on-target (three by Roman) compared to MACU's three.
 
"I can't say enough about these ladies and the hard work that they have all been putting in," Posey said. "They are dealing with injuries, short nights and long days, but they are continuing to push forward."
 
The Pioneers play their final regular-season road match at 1 p.m. Saturday in Waxahachie against last-place Southwestern Assemblies of God (4-8, 0-6). That will be followed by home matches against Southwestern Christian (6-6, 2-3) and Oklahoma-Panhandle State (4-10, 1-5). All three upcoming opponents are lower in the SAC standings than Wayland.
 
"We've got another big opportunity on Saturday to take another step," Posey said. "We will keep working and give our best."