Photo by Kami Wood
Chickasha, Okla. – The Central Christian College men's soccer team picked a huge win on Wednesday evening, going on the road and defeating the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma Drovers 1-0.
Both teams came into the game with similar overall records, but the Drovers were two games better in the win column in Sooner Athletic Conference games. The Drovers controlled the ball and time of possession for the majority of the game, with the Tigers looking to counter attack and move forward when opportunities presented themselves.
The keys to the game for the Tigers were there capability of holding the line defensively, and their ability to win fifty-fifty balls inside the 18 yard box. The Drovers worked the ball from the middle of the field to their wings and served balls into the box from out by the touch lines. All night, the Tiger defense was superior in the air on those services, thwarting the Drovers' attack inside the 18.
The lone goal of the game came in the 28th minute of the game. On a corner kick served in by Lucas Chirife, Nicholas Aranare made solid contact on a header, but the ball just clipped the underside of the cross bar and went back into the field of play. On the rebound, Mattia Cola hit a beautiful side volley from the top of the six yard box that found the back of the net.
The Tigers had a couple opportunities in the second half at a second goal, but for the most part were content to sit back and absorb the Drover attack, taking away their chances and clearing balls down field.
Sebastian Herrera picked up the win in goal for the Tigers. He faced seven shots on goal from Drovers, and turned them all away.
Coach Hoxie summed up the win saying, "Extremely pleased with the energy and effort that the boys showed today. We discussed how to get 3 points from the day, and the guys executed it. We controlled the 50/50's, we were physical in the right areas, limited their ability to turn us in 1v1 situations, and we won the set piece battle. It seems like easy math, but very few teams go into Chickasha and get a point, much less three. You could see how much it means to the players after the game, they all understood the unlikely task that they just accomplished there." Hoxie continued, "All the credit goes to the players. Every kid did their job and played their part. However, in these types of games, you need players to standout individually. We had 3 or 4 guys who deserve recognition for their performance in this game. These guys were special on the day."
With the win, the Tigers are now 8-3-4 overall, and 2-2-2 in SAC action. The win did not leap frog them in SAC standings over USAO. The Drovers are still sitting in the 5th slot, and the Tigers are 6th. However, the Tigers now hold the tiebreaker over the Drovers, and in their final three games of the season, all of the USAO opponents are in the top 4 of the SAC standings while only one of the three opponents the Tigers have lef,t are inside the top 4. The Tigers will play their final home game of the season on Saturday in a 1:00 pm match up with the John Brown University Golden Eagles.
