SHAWNEE, Okla. -- For the first time since 2008, the John Brown mens soccer team (5-4-1, 1-0-0 SAC) started out Sooner Athletic play with a victory, this time a 1-0 decision after freshman Conner Haney netted his second goal of the season in the 79th minute at St. Gregorys (Okla.) on Tuesday (Sept. 19) afternoon at Fr. Victor Roberts Field.
The Golden Eagles last conference-opening victory came on Sept. 27, a 2-1 win also at SGU. Since then, JBU had fallen in six-consecutive matches to start league play.
Despite out-shooting the host Cavaliers, 32-2, John Brown had a difficult time finding the back of the net, including a penalty kick opportunity that just missed.
Continuous pressure allowed the visitors to build a 14-1 shooting advantage in the first half, but St. Gregorys keeper Adrian Cole made five saves to keep the game scoreless at the half.
Finally, in the 66th minute, senior Guilherme Barbosa had a chance to deposit his first goal of the season when JBU was awarded its first penalty kick of the 2015 season. Barbosa sent in a shot that caught the inside of the left post, which then deflected across the goal line, but stayed out of the Cavalier net.
In what looked to be destined for a 0-0 draw, Haney took advantage of an opportunity and handed the Golden Eagles its first chance at peaking over the .500 mark on the year.
Sophomore Collin Smith recovered a loose ball at the top left corner of the box before slotting a pass through to freshman Kelvin Omondi. Omondi diced between two defenders and let a shot go just inside the box, which deflected to an oncoming Haney, who was crashing the far right post. Haney then calmly sent a right-footed shot to the far left post, accounting for the contests lone goal of the afternoon.
The Golden Eagle back line of seniors Will Simonds and Logan Hellinghausen and freshmen Hazeley Pyle and Giovani Bejarano limited the hosts to just two shot attempts and none on goal. Because of the strong defensive effort, Holt, newly-named NAIA National Defensive Player of the Week, didnt need to make a save in the match and extended his current shutout streak to 270:00. It was Holts fifth clean sheet of the year and ninth of his career.
“We started out a bit flat today and didnt seem to come alive until 30 minutes into the match,†admitted head coach Scott Marksberry. “However, we were very good defensively again. Allowing zero shots on goal for the second time this season is a notable accomplishment for our guys.â€
Barbosa notched a career-high eight shots in the win, followed by five from Haney and three from freshman Santiago Venegas, who made his first appearance since leaving the match against Benedictine (Kan.) on Sept. 12. Four other Golden Eagles sent at least two shots towards the SGU net.
Cole picked up the loss in net for the Cavaliers, making seven saves on eight John Brown scoring chances.
JBU will return to action on Saturday (Oct. 3) when it welcomes Bacone (Okla.) to Alumni Field for a 3 p.m. matchup. The contest will be a part of the John Brown University Homecoming 2015 festivities.
