WBU closes in on securing home playoff match

After taking the lead with the wind in their faces, the Wayland Baptist women's soccer team really got rolling when the wind was at their backs and wound up with a convincing 3-0 victory over Southwestern Christian University in Sooner Athletic Conference play Tuesday evening at Hilliard Field.

"I can't say enough about the way these ladies have been playing," WBU coach Shiloh Posey said after the Pioneers (9-4-1, 5-2-1 SAC) logged their third straight victory to remain in third place in the league standings. "Everyone contributed tonight, everyone did what they were asked to do, and everyone carried the belief that a 'W' is all they would accept."

Aryial Garcia got the somewhat unlikely first-half goal just 8:24 into the match against the Eagles (6-8, 2-5). Bianca Roman dribbled the ball down the field and passed to Mayra Sosa, who took a shot that the SCU goalkeeper was unable to get under control. Garcia corralled it and sent it into the net between two Eagle defenders for her fifth goal of the season.
 
"The wind was really tough tonight in the first half. We talked about it before the coin toss and decided that we would deal with it in the first half just like we have in previous games," Posey said. "We were able to get a counter-attack, and the unselfish play in front of the net allowed us to score.
 
"We've been pushing the necessity to start fast, and that's what we were able to do tonight."
 
With the wind at their backs for the final 45 minutes, Wayland got another advantage when an Eagles player was red-carded, forcing the visitors from Bethany, Okla., to play the final 34 minutes a player down.
 
The Pioneers struck again in the 70^th minute when Roman took a shot on a half-volleyball from just outside the box, slipping it past the diving SCU keeper.
 
Ten minutes later, Roman was at it again. After a long ball down the field from Audilia Vargas, Roman outran her defender and again beat the diving SCU keeper on a 1v1 for the final goal of the match and Roman's 10^th of the season.
 
"In the second half the wind was at our backs, and that was helpful. The team did a great job of pushing our attack, and Bianca was able to score two more goals," Posey said.
 
The three goals were the second-most of the season for Wayland, behind only a 9-0 romp of Bacone. 

The Pioneers took 17 shots, 14 more than the Eagles who had just one on-goal. Garcia fired five shots, Roman four and Sosa three. Three of Roman's shots were on-goal as were both of Ajacia Mojica's offerings as Wayland had nine on-target boots.

Wayland's fifth shutout of the season, and second straight, gets the Pioneers one step closer to securing a home match in the first-round of the SAC Tournament. The Pioneers can nail that down in their regular-season finale set for 5 p.m. Saturday against next-to-last Oklahoma-Panhandle State (4-12, 1-7), which fell Tuesday to fourth-place Mid-America Christian, 7-1.
 
"We have our last home game on Saturday, and we spoke about the absolute necessity of staying focused. This game may be the most important part of staying in third place because we have a couple of quality teams (MACU and Oklahoma City) right behind us. We know it's not time to relax and we'll keep working."
 
A win Saturday on Senior Day would secure just the third-ever home post-season match for the Pioneers. The first was in 2013, the program's winningest season in history (13-6-1), and the second came in 2015. Wayland won both those matches.
 
Posey praised assistant coaches Alan Reyna and Alejandro Campo, who "have brought some very valuable knowledge and energy to the team. They have been instrumental in much of our success. I'm grateful for their input and look forward to the next game."