SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- With penalty kicks seemingly a foregone conclusion, senior Amilcar Gonzalez's service into the box off a restart allowed freshman Oscar Carballo to strike for the golden goal in the 103rd minute as the top-seeded John Brown University men's soccer team finished off a 2-1 double-overtime victory over fourth-seeded Wayland Baptist (Texas) in the Sooner Athletic tournament semifinals on Sunday night (Nov. 10) at Alumni Field.
Carballo, the 2019 SAC Player of the Year, settled the deflection off Gonzalez's service into the box before ripping a 10-yard blast past Pioneer keeper Gonzalo Santa to the bottom left corner – sending the Golden Eagles (16-3-0) to its third-ever title match and the first since 2012.
"In preseason, as a team, we decided that this year was going to be a year of firsts," third-year head coach Brenton Benware admitted after the match. "I'm so proud of our response tonight. I thought it was the best full match we've played this year. Big response from Wayland, bigger response from JBU tonight."
The response Benware alluded to was a flurry of back-to-back goals scored just 67 seconds apart in the second half after 72 minutes of scoreless, deadlocked soccer. While John Brown ousted WBU in the regular season by a 2-0 score, it was the Pioneers which drew first blood.
Lucas Travis netted his third of the season off a pass from Adir Versano to give the visitors a 1-0 lead with just over 18 minutes left in the match. The play began on a cross from Jesus Martinez on the right flank.
John Brown needed just 67 seconds to respond, however, as Gonzalez sent home his eighth of the season by chipping Santa in the box off a service from sophomore Jack Bos just inside the center line.
Neither team could find the winner in regulation with John Brown holding a 19-7 shooting advantage. Santa carried the Pioneers on his shoulders with a monster 10-save performance through regulation, but the hosts needed just one more opportunity to punch its first ticket to the championship in six years.
Freshman Jacob Zamarron drew a foul near the touch line deep in Wayland territory, which setup the nation's top assist man for service into the box. Gonzalez's arching attempt on the set play was briefly interrupted by Zamarron and a visiting defender going for the ball in the air, but the deflection popped out to Carballo, who sent his 19th of the season past Santa in dramatic fashion.
"These games are all about emotion, so tactics are important," Benware added. "I think the whole coaching staff planned and prepared well, so it comes down to can you respond to the fight and emotion coming at us. Goodness, I was proud of the emotional response – we didn't let the emotions change the way we played."
Without leading scorer James Westfield, who was injured in quarterfinal action, the Pioneers attempted just eight shots in the contest, forcing Wisener to come up with one save.
Carballo led all players with eight shot attempts, four on goal, as the Golden Eagles piled up 15 corner kick opportunities to Wayland's three attempts from the flag.
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With an automatic berth into the NAIA National Championships on the line, the Golden Eagles will welcome the winner of third-seeded Science & Arts (Okla.) and second-seeded Mid-America Christian (Okla.) to Alumni Field on Saturday evening for a chance to take the crown. Kick off is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m.
