CHICKASHA, Okla. -- For the second time in as many seasons, the No. 19 John Brown University women's soccer team captured the Sooner Athletic regular season title with a perfect conference record, this time using a goal from sophomore Kristen Howell in the second half to steal a 1-0 win over No. 21 Science & Arts (Okla.) on Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 31) at Drover Pitch.
In last season's 2-0 clinching win over Texas Wesleyan, Howell netted the insurance tally, and this season's strike was even more dramatic.
The winner of today's match would capture not only the league crown, but also the top seed in the 2017 SAC Women's Soccer Tournament, ensuring home field advantage throughout the tournament. The showdown between the Golden Eagles (16-2-0, 10-0-0 Sooner Athletic) and USAO (14-3-1, 9-1-0) was looming in the distance all season as the squads ran through league opponents until the deciding contest that would position one team to capture the conference's coveted automatic qualifier to the NAIA National Championships.
In the 61st minute after a first half that JBU controlled the majority possession of, junior Jastin Redman received a ball from the middle from senior Sara Frey up the right flank. After a few touches, Redman blasted a shot that snuck through USAO keeper Morgan Wilson's hands and off the crossbar.
Howell was there, however, to chest in her third of the season at the back post, providing a lead the Golden Eagles wouldn't relinquish, despite a close call.
With an 11-match winning streak on the line, freshman keeper Maggie Allen kept JBU in the contest with season-best six saves and a little bit of help.
With a 1-0 lead and the match winding down to a close, USAO's Lindsay Daugherty's free kick hit the crossbar while Jordan Cleveland's follow-up attempt went wide. Both teams finished the match with 11 shot attempts.
That would be the end of the Drover scoring chances as Allen picked up her second-career shutout and moved to 10-0-0 on the season. It was JBU's ninth team clean sheet of the season, and the Golden Eagles haven't surrendered a goal in the last 540:00 of play.
"I was proud of the girls tonight and winning another regular season championship," head coach Kathleen Paulsen said after capturing her second title as coach. "It definitely wasn't the prettiest performance, but we got it done, with a lot on the line as well. Whenever you can get a win on the road, against a quality opponent, that's an accomplishment."
John Brown now owns four SAC women's soccer regular season crowns. Besides last year's title, JBU also won the league in 2007 and 2009.
With the dramatic win, the Golden Eagles earned the right to host Wayland Baptist (Texas) in the quarterfinals of the tournament, which is scheduled for Friday (Nov. 3) at 7 p.m. JBU bested the Pioneers 8-0 in the regular season at Alumni Field back on Oct. 5.
