Photo by Kami Wood
Bethany, Okla. – Needing a win in their final regular season game of the year to secure a finish in the top half of the Sooner Athletic Conference standings, for the first time since joining the conference in 2018, the Central Christian College Men's soccer team played with a purpose on Friday afternoon, on the road at Southwestern Christian University.
After 90 minutes of battle with the Eagles, on the pitch, the Tigers accomplished what they set out to do, coming home with a 3-1 win. Statistically, the game was pretty much dead even. The Tigers had a slim edge in total shot, 15 to 14, but both teams finished with seven shots on goal. The difference came down to making the most of the opportunities that presented themselves, and the Tigers were much more efficient.
It didn't take long for the Tigers to find their groove. In the 17th minute, Nicholas Arenare (Jr. Midloathian, Texas), found Johnny Rodriguez (Jr. Anaheim, Calif.), who slotted the ball past the Eagle goal keeper for a one nil lead.
The Tigers would carry that lead into the halftime intermission, but would go up a brace 17 minutes into the second half on a goal by Drew Schrader (Sr. McPherson, Kan.), assisted by Rodriguez. Seven minutes late, the Tigers would get a much needed insurance goal off the foot of Camilo Penafiel (So. Santiago, Chile), on another assist from Arenare.
In the final 10 minutes of regulation, the Eagles amped up the pressure, and the Tigers found themselves scrambling. The Eagles finally got on the board in the 81st minute, but because the Tigers had built up the three goal advantage, there was more breathing room, and they were able to weather the final flurry of activity from SCU.
Timothy Foster (So. Palm Coast, Fla.), went the distance for the Tigers, picking up his third win of the season, finishing with five saves.
Coach Hoxie summed up the effort of the Tigers saying, "It is very difficult for me to sum up how I feel or the various thoughts that are going through me at the moment. Of course there are feelings of joy, pride, accomplishment, etc, but there is also an empty feeling because we are not whole. It is very personal for me at the moment, however, the thoughts of these players bring a smile to my face."
"The game that the kids played was very good. Sure there were some nervy moments, especially the final ten minutes, but top to bottom we played the game to a high standard, our standard. This was the exact response I was looking for coming off the egg we laid Tuesday. The dudes absolutely laid waste to the land and the tread marks that were left on the field were earned. It was a backyard mashing."
"We accomplished a goal that we thought was a bit out of our reach that we set for ourselves back in August, which was to host a SAC tournament game. We get to do that Friday, the first in school history, in my recollection. That being said, we will have a bit of a celebration tonight, and allow ourselves an opportunity to enjoy the season, but the grind continues tomorrow."
With the win, the Tigers wrapped up the regular season at 10-4-2 overall, and 5-4 in SAC play. They finished third in the final SAC standings, their best finish in program history, and have earned the right to host a SAC tournament quarterfinal game next week. As the third seed in the upcoming tournament, the Tigers will host 6th seeded USAO, a team that defeated them 3-0 in McPherson last week, at 2:00 pm on Friday afternoon.
