Pioneers secure win, even SAC record to 1-1-1

After a tie and loss in their first two Sooner Athletic Conference outings, the Wayland Baptist women's soccer team was ready for a win. Thanks to a comeback effort against Central Christian (Kan.) on Wednesday afternoon at Hilliard Field, the Pioneers got their "W."
 
Reagan Cordell and Lucy Chavez scored goals for Wayland that got the Pioneers out of an early hole and send them to a 2-1 victory over the Lady Tigers.
 
"I'm glad for the win," WBU coach Shiloh Posey said. "We've got some things to correct before Saturday's game with OCU."
 
The win improved Wayland's overall record to 5-3-1 and evened their SAC mark to 1-1-1. Central Christian slipped to 7-3-1, 0-3-0.
 
Alexa Riddle got the visitors from McPherson, Kan., on the board with a goal in the 12^th minute, which she followed up with an on-field cartwheel.
 
"We started well…the first 12-15 minutes, moving the ball, possession. When they began to get some momentum, for some reason we backed away, and that caused us to have trouble and get put on our back foot," Posey said.
 
"At halftime I felt we were lucky to only be down 1-0 because Central Christian had made some dangerous runs forward. We had a serious conversation about our approach and mental focus. The team took things to heart and came out with some intensity. They began to pressure the ball, close up the loose places, and got back some momentum."
 
Wayland knotted the score 11 minutes after halftime when Cordell sent a long, high ball from near midfield that hit in the box and bounced higher than the 5-foot-2 Lady Tiger keeper expected and wound up in the goal.

"Reagan's long shot that went over the keeper broke the ice for us," Posey said. "Ironically, Regan has score three goals this year on almost the exact play."
 
Some 10½ minutes later, the Pioneers were celebrating again when Chavez recorded the game-winner. It was Chavez's first goal of the season on a shot from some 15 yards that she sent over the keeper's head to the far post.
 
"Natalie Terry's diagonal ball to Lucy, and Lucy's quick shot over the goalkeeper was textbook," Posey said. "It was nice to see it pay off."
 
The Lady Tigers got off just a single shot on-goal in the final 24 minutes, and WBU keeper Kanade Morita collected it for one of her six saves on the day.
 
The Lady Tigers got off 14 shots – seven each half – while Wayland ended with 11 shots, all but two of which came after halftime. The Pioneers put four shots on-goal compared to Central Christian's seven.
 
"Every substitute that we brought in added great energy and effort, which kept things moving," Posey said.
 
Next for Wayland is Oklahoma City University at 3 p.m. Saturday at Hilliard. The Stars (7-3, 2-1) are coming off back-to-back wins over Southwestern Assemblies of God, 2-1, and Oklahoma-Panhandle State, 2-0, which followed a conference-opening 3-0 loss to Mid-America Nazarene.