Tuesday April 6, 2022 - Siloam Springs, AR
 
TIGERS EARN THEIR WAY TO SAC FINALS
 
In semifinal one of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament, #8 Central Christian College of Kansas Tigers defeated #5 John Brown University Eagles by the score of 3-2.  The Tigers earned the right to feature in the game by defeating top seed and #18 nationally Southwestern Christian University 1-0 in a shoot out last week, while The Eagles defeated #4 Wayland Baptist University 1-0.
 
The game would get off to a cracking start.  The Tigers were able to play a free kick into the box where Matias Nunez flicked his header to the far post. Leslie Feh timed his run perfectly and scored from close range. A great delivery from Ismael Valverde setting up the sequence nicely. 
 
Moments later Leslie was in behind the back line again, except this time the Gk was up to the challenge saving the point blank shot off a feed from Drew Schrader. The pair would link up again after a deft back heel by Drew sent Leslie in on goal. But the GK made an even better play denying Leslie a second goal. The last opportunity for the Tigers to extend the lead came with Drew slipping in behind but again, the GK made another clutch save to keep his team in it. 
 
After these moments, the Eagles began to get a hold of the match. Their movement and speed caused a lot of problems for the Tigers and a goal was inevitable. A simple cross in behind and the Eagles had their first one of the game. Nothing complicated about this one but one of the defenders wasn't paying attention to the run. The Eagles would tally a 2nd goal to take the 2-1 halftime lead off a deflection.  They were in full control of the match. 
 
Hoxie had this to say, "Great start to the match today!  I felt like we could have been up 4-2 at half time but were unlucky not to find the net on any of those. We really struggled to sort out things after that early spell. We let them get a foot hold in the game and they scored off of their pressure. I didn't think their goals were anything to write home about but their pressure earned those. We just were really in a bad moment and the whistle couldn't come soon enough!"
 
Hoxie made some significant changes to start the second half. With the goal being to hang in, slow them down, and not concede a 3rd. "I told the kids, we have to keep this thing at 2 no matter what. We had a goal in us but a two goal deficit would be a dagger. So, we sat in to control the spaces and eliminated their danger areas. We also let their weaker players have the ball because they weren't used to starting their attacks from there. We were able to get our shape and then hold the line. It was glorious to watch us grind another game down."
 
While the Eagles had the majority of the ball, there wasn't much of a threat to the Tigers net for most of the half. The game was stuck in the Tigers defensive 1/3 and with the occasional foray forward, they were looking to equalize. In all reality, it wasn't the same spectacle we witnessed in the first half, quite dull actually. Hoxie added, "yah...we definitely wanted to take the sting out of their attack and make them play slower. We knew that we could open up at any time and the plan was to do so the last 15 minutes of the game. We just needed to only be down a goal and within sniffing distance."


But with 16 minutes left in the game, the fun factor would increase significantly. After a quick tactics change, Leslie was able to get connected with Matias inside the penalty area but his shot was blocked for another Tiger corner. On the ensuing corner kick, Leslie was able to win the knockdown and his cross found Conrado Perez wide open at the back stick. His emphatic tap in, meant that the Tigers had equalized! "We got our goal and you could see the life get sucked out of the stadium, not my guys, we had just finished our warmup and we're ready to start sprinting...but it was eerily silent."


A minute later Matias would find the game winner. After winning the kick off, Tyler Hoxie would find Hilario Garica in the center mid. Hilario was able to beat his man and get out of pressure, playing the ball between defenders to Matias. Matias beat his defender and put his shot over the keepers head for his 8th goal of his season. "That's the definition of something out of nothing. But when you've got the quality that he has, he always has the green light from those sorts of areas. How he got it up and down over a 6'5" GK from 18 yards away, I'll never know, and I don't care now."


For the remaining 12 minutes, the Tigers were absolutely flying. The midfielders and defenders held the line and made several key tackles sniffing out any sort of danger. But the game wasn't without one last chance. The Eagles were able to win a poor clearance and slip in #19. Sebastián Herrera was quick off the line, reading the play expertly, saving the shot and knocking it out for a corner. One last great moment for the All Conference goal keeper. With minutes turning to seconds, the Tigers were finally able to celebrate the victory. They accomplished something that is a first at the college, make the conference final. 


"What else is there to say about these kids? They grind...they work...they commit...they love...it's a true blessing to be a part of their lives. They are daily changing the culture and giving a new meaning to what it means to play when you put the badge on. They've earned this!"


The Sooner Athletic Conference Championship will be Friday April 9 at Mid-America Christian University with kick off slated to be 7pm. Mid-America Christian is the tournament overall 2 seed and they are #22 in the nation at the moment. They get to the finals as 3-1 winners over USAO. 
 
The game will be live streamed on the SAC Sports Network app.