Photo by Kami Wood
Goodwell, Okla. – The Central Christian College men's soccer team picked up a very important result on Saturday, going on the road and defeating the Oklahoma Panhandle State University Aggies, 3-1.
The Tigers got off to a sloppy start on Saturday against the Aggies. Once they overcame the sluggish start, they played some of their most inspired soccer of the season. In the 19th minute, the Tigers broke the scoreless tie when Riccardo Di Vincenzo (Sr. Trapani, Italy), scored on a free kick, sent in by Francisco Leite (Sr. Porto, Portugal). Four minutes later, Johnny Rodriguez (Jr. Anaheim, Calif.), scored his team leading 7th goal of the season, on a dime from Drew Schrader (Sr. McPherson, Kan.), the programs all-time assist leader.
The Tigers lead 2-0 heading into halftime, but in the 59th minute, the Aggies found the scoreboard, and cut the deficit in half. With under a minute to play, Schrader delivered another dime, this time to Logan Singh (So. Houston, Texas), who buried the shot and put the game away.
Rodolfo Ramirez (Jr. Mission Viejo, Calif.), recorded three saves on his way to his seventh win of the season.
Coach Hoxie summed up the win saying, "Real proud of the guys today. We challenged ourselves to make sure that we had the right mentality, desire, commitment...our standard. On our last road trip, we didn't, and we paid for it. We absolutely did tonight. These dudes couldn't breathe against the unrelenting and unwavering force, and it was fun to watch."
He added, "From a soccer standpoint, I didn't think we started the game all that well. Had some poor touches, that led to poor passes, and we couldn't get out of our own way. We did get luck on the first goal, when the GK dropped it for us, but that was all we needed. A little taste, a little sniff, and it was on. The second goal a few minutes later, and we were absolutely buzzing. We should have put the game away earlier but their keeper made several saves to keep them in it, to be fair. It was a very nice counterattacking goal for our third, and Logan [Singh]made the 65 yd sprint to get on the end of Drew's pass. Commitment and desire, in full display, as he did a full sprint 88 minutes in."
Hoxie concluded with "This game isn't all there is. There's more to give. More to do. More to learn. Today we conquered No Man's Land, but we are more than conquerors...these boys love for each other will sure extend beyond this place. That's the hope anyway."
The Win puts the Tigers a 8-2-2 overall. They are not, however, just hoping to qualify for the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament in a few weeks, they are hoping to host a first round match. Saturday's win goes a long way in helping the team achieve that goal. They are currently in a three way tie for third place at 3-2. Finishing in the top four of the standing would allow them to play their opening round game in front of the home faithful, where they are currently 5-1-1 on the year.
Next up is a big match-up on the road Tuesday in Siloam Springs, Arkansas against the John Brown University Golden Eagles, who currently sit atop the SAC standings. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
