SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Science & Arts (Okla.) leading scorer, Jade Ovendale, netted a first-half tally while teammate Morgan Wilson capitalized on another John Brown (7-3-1, 3-1-0) miscue to send the Drovers to a 2-1 win over the Golden Eagles tonight at Alumni Field.
Both USAO scores came amidst a pair of defensive miscommunication as the visitors two first-half goals were enough in a battle of the Sooner Athletic Conferences top two squads.
“Tonight was an interesting game for us,†head coach Kathleen Paulsen said. “I told the team that we can't beat ourselves with the goals we gave up. The team made the adjustments at half time and I thought it was a much better 2nd half, but it was hard to dig ourselves out of that hole.
“I was proud of the way we kept fighting regardless of the hole. We'll learn from it and move on to Saturday's game.â€
Fight the Golden Eagles did as the hosts sent six shots towards Drover keeper Addie Lee in the second half, three of which hit the target.
In the 56th minute, the Drovers made a costly error of their own on the defensive end. Lee and her defenders got caught, and an opportunistic Braydi Frederick stole an unaccounted for ball in the box. The sophomore forward then played a perfect pass into the middle to sophomore midfielder Sara Lachance, who buried a well-placed strike into the open net.
The goal was Lachances third of the season while Frederick collected her team-leading fifth assist on the year.
Ovendale, currently second in the nation in scoring, added her 20th goal of the season after her original shot was rejected by junior goalkeeper Kristen Morency. Ovendale managed to corral the rebound and fire a second shot past the John Brown keeper, who managed to get a hand on the ball, but not enough, allowing the Drovers an early 1-0 lead in the 10th minute.
Science & Arts (11-1-0, 2-1-0 SAC) doubled its lead to 2-0 in the 43rd minute as Wilson found herself one-on-one with Morency after the JBU defense misplayed a clearing attempt. Catching Morency out of position, Wilson easily placed a shot into the bottom left corner.
The Golden Eagles finished the match with an 11-9 shooting advantage, forcing Lee to make five saves in the victory. Morency took the loss in net for John Brown, also ending the match with five saves.
John Brown will return to the pitch on Saturday (Oct. 11) in Shawnee, Okla., when it will face Oklahoma Baptist at 6 p.m.
