Pairings announced for SAC Soccer Tourneys

Wayland Baptist will host back-to-back Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal matches this weekend, with the men playing at 4 p.m. Friday and the women at 7 p.m. Saturday.
 
Both WBU teams are seeded third in their respective eight-team, single-elimination tournaments, which will be hosted throughout by the higher-seeded team. The tourney champions automatically qualify for the NAIA Championship Opening Round Nov. 18-20 on campus sites throughout the nation.
 
The WBU men (9-5-2) will host sixth-seeded Texas Wesleyan (9-6-2) at 4 p.m. Friday in a rematch of their Sept. 28 conference-opener in Plainview that saw the Pioneers rally from a two-goal deficit to record a 3-3 double-overtime tie.
 
The Rams scored held a 2-0 lead until Wayland got on the board seven minutes after halftime when Santiago Hernandez, coming back from injury, scored directly from a free kick taken in the corner of the box. Ten minutes later, the Rams went back up by two, but Wayland answered just 30 seconds later when Hector Romero scored on a header off Leonardo Amaral's cross. The match's final goal came three minutes later on a corner from Hernandez, which Samba Gnokane converted into a goal on a right-footed volley. WBU had a chance at another goal, but Gnokane was unable to convert a penalty kick with 20 minutes left in regular time.
 
The Pioneers wound up taking 11 shots, five on-goal, compared to 17 shots for the Rams, including 10 on-goal. Gnokane took a team-high four shots, two of which were on-target. Hernandez managed three goals coming off the bench. Ilkkan Sahin recorded seven saves for WBU as he spent all 110 minutes in goal.
 
The winner between the Pioneers and Rams will take on either No. 2 seed Oklahoma-Panhandle State (10-3-2), ranked the equivalent of 39^th in the NAIA, or No. 7 seed Southwestern Christian (10-6-1), ranked the equivalent of 29^th, on Monday. The championship match is Thursday, Nov. 11.
 
After missing out in their first two years of play in 2009 and '10, the WBU men are making their 11^th consecutive appearance in the SAC Tournament. WBU and TXWES have never met in the post-season. The Pioneers, who are 12-8-3 all-time in post-season play, fell in the first round last season to John Brown in a match played in Lubbock, 1-0.

Mid-America Christian is the No. 1 seed after securing its first SAC regular-season title. The Evangels (16-0-1), who host No. 8 seed Central Christian (13-4-1) in the quarterfinals, went 8-0-1 in league play to become the first team to win the SAC regular-season title with an unbeaten mark since Wayland took the 2016 SAC crown with an 8-0-1 record.

The MACU-Central Christian winner advances to meet either No. 4 seed John Brown (7-9) or No. 5 seed Science & Arts (9-6-3). 

The WBU women, meanwhile, who qualified for the SAC Tournament for the 10^th straight time, host sixth-seeded Oklahoma City (9-7) at 7 p.m. Saturday. It will be a rematch of an Oct. 9 match which the Pioneers won, 2-1. OCU scored in the 23^rd minute, but Aryial Garcia scored both goals for Wayland just 2½ minutes apart in the second half. Both teams took 12 shots (Lucy Chavez led WBU with four). OCU had seven shots on-goal compared to Wayland's three. WBU keeper Kanade Morita recorded six saves.
 
The win ended a five-match skid against OCU. Wayland is 3-16 all-time against the Stars, their lone playoff meeting in 2012 which saw OCU win, 2-0.

The Pioneer women are 5-8-1 all-time in post-season play.

The winner between the Pioneers and Stars will take on either No. 2 Science & Arts (14-4), ranked the equivalent of 26^th, or No. 7 Texas Wesleyan (8-6-2) in the semifinals.

Sixth-ranked John Brown (14-1) is the No. 1 seed and will entertain Southwestern Christian (6-10) with an eye on the winner between No. 4 Mid-America Christian (9-6) and No. 5 Central Christian (13-4-1).
 

SOONER ATHLETIC MEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
At Campus Sites
Matches Hosted by Higher Seeds
FRIDAY, NOV. 5
Quarterfinals
Game 1	No. 8 Central Christian (13-4-1) at No. 1 Mid-America Christian (16-0-1)	7 p.m.
Game 2	No. 7 Southwestern Christian (10-6-1) at No. 2 Panhandle State (10-3-2)	7 p.m.
Game 3	No. 6 Texas Wesleyan (9-6-2) at No. 3 Wayland Baptist (9-5-2)	4 p.m.
Game 4	No. 5 Science & Arts (9-6-3) at No. 4 John Brown (7-9)	TBA
MONDAY, NOV. 8
Semifinals
Game 5	TBA	TBA
Game 6	TBA	TBA
THURSDAY, NOV. 11
Championship
Game 7	Semifinal winners	TBA

 
 

SOONER ATHLETIC WOMEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
At Campus Sites
Matches Hosted by Higher Seeds
SATURDAY, NOV. 6
Quarterfinals
Game 1	No. 8 Southwestern Christian (6-10) at No. 1 John Brown (14-1)	1 p.m.
Game 2	No. 7 Texas Wesleyan (8-6-2) at No. 2 Science & Arts (14-4)	8 p.m.
Game 3	No. 6 Oklahoma City (9-7) at No. 3 Wayland Baptist (10-4-1)	7 p.m.
Game 4	No. 5 Central Christian (13-4-1) at No. 4 Mid-America Christian (9-6)	7 p.m.
TUESDAY, NOV. 9
Semifinals
Game 5	TBA	TBA
Game 6	TBA	TBA
FRIDAY, NOV. 12
Championship
Game 7	Semifinal winners	TBA