OKLAHOMA CITY – Wayland Baptist's men's and women's soccer teams came up on the short end against Mid-America Christian in Sooner Athletic Conference soccer action here Saturday night. The women fell to the Evangels, 3-0, while the Pioneer men wound up a bit short against the NAIA's No. 22-ranked team, 2-1.
The loss by the Wayland men (6-4-1, 1-2-1 SAC) came on the heels of the Pioneers' 2-1 overtime win over John Brown on Wednesday. WBU was looking to build on that momentum and knock of the SAC's No. 1 team in MACU (10-1, 4-0).
The Evangels, though, had other plans, taking an early 1-0 lead with a header by Endri Copa in the 15
th minute.
Wayland answered quickly, though, when less than two minutes later
Marco Magnoli fired in his sixth goal of the season from 20 yards out.
The game-winner came on a penalty kick in the 54
th minute as Rodrigo Albuquerque slipped one past WBU keeper
Gonzalo Santa.
"I thought we played well against a good side," WBU coach
Robert Ssejjemba said. "Each half was different in approach for both teams. IN the first half, our press limited the flow of their game. In the second half, we got on the ball more, especially in the wide areas and created more opportunities, but we were not clinical enough."
Wayland was outshot, 14-4. Magnoli,
Santiago Hernandez,
Ryan Naidoo and Jesus Chilion had the Pioneers' shots, with Magnoli getting the lone on-goal shot.
Santa logged four saves.
It marked the third straight 3-0 loss for the Wayland women (3-3, 1-3 SAC), having previously fallen by that same score to Oklahoma City and No. 16 John Brown. All three of those teams are unbeaten in conference play.
Against the Evangels (10-1, 4-0), Wayland gave up a goal in the 12
th minute on a ball that got through the Pioneer defense and was tapped in from point-blank range. The score remained 1-0 until MACU struck again in the 66
th minute. The Evangels tacked on a third goal with just over two minute left in the match.
Wayland wasn't shut out for a lack on a lack of shooting as the Pioneers got off 11 shots, one more than MACU. But only four of WBU's attempts were on-goal, compared to the Evangels' nine.
Fortune Kede was credited with four shots, three on-target.
Audilia Vargas had Wayland's other on-goal attempt.
Iris Nevarez logged six saves.
Wayland returns to action in one week in McPherson, Kan., against Central Christian College as the Pioneers play their fourth road matches in five outings, starting at noon for the men and 2 p.m. for the women on March 13. The CCC women are 5-6, 1-3 in the SAC while the men are 5-7-2, 0-3-1.
WBU will be back at home Tuesday, March 16 against Texas Wesleyan.
