SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- A pair of second-half penalty kicks from freshman Jacob Zamarron gave the top-seeded John Brown University men's soccer team just enough to stay alive as the Golden Eagles wrapped up a 3-2 win over eighth-seeded Southwestern A.G. (Texas) on Friday afternoon (Nov. 8) at Alumni Field.
Zamarron took over as the nation's leading scorer via his second hat trick and eighth multi-goal game of the season as John Brown (15-3-0) advances to host fourth-seeded Wayland Baptist (Texas) at Alumni Field on Sunday (Nov. 10). Kick-off time is scheduled for 7 p.m. Zamarron now has 24 goals on the season.
Twelve seconds is all it took for the hosts to get on the board as Zamarron picked off a square pass from the outside back into the middle. The striker then cut into the middle and let go a left-footed shot back to the right post past SAGU keeper Julio Guevara for a 1-0 Golden Eagle lead.
Despite a 13-0 shot margin, the Lions wouldn't concede another JBU marker through the first half.
In fact, Southwestern A.G. shocked the Alumni Field crowd when the Lions leveled the match at one in the 52nd minute after Felipe Torres pick-pocketed a Golden Eagle in a dangerous position. Torres would turn toward goal and take a 22-yard blast that beat senior Britt Wisener to the bottom left corner.
In the 65th and 83rd minutes, Zamarron converted a pair of kicks from the stripe to send John Brown to a 3-1 advantage. The first came as Guevara came out to challenge freshman Oscar Carballo on a one-on-one before taking out Carballo's legs in the box. The latter came on a Zamarron shot attempt that ended with a Lion taking out Zamarron's legs in the box. Both attempts were well warranted.
SAGU wouldn't go away, however, as a JBU turnover with just over 90 seconds left on the right flank turned into a quick counter up the side. Carlos Rene Martinez's low cross into the box was not cleared and Bryan Callejas stepped into a one-touch strike 10 yards from goal that Wisener had little chance at.
Guevara finished with nine saves while Wisener came up with a pair.
JBU eventually closed out the dramatic contest with a 28-5 shooting advantage to advance to its eighth consecutive SAC tournament semifinal appearance. The Golden Eagles have only one tournament title in program history (2002).
Up Next
No. 1 seed John Brown will welcome back to Alumni Field fourth-seeded Wayland Baptist to Alumni Field for the second time in 2019 in the semifinals on Sunday (Nov. 10) at 7 p.m. JBU defeated the Pioneers 2-0 back on Oct. 19 on goals from Carballo and Zamarron.
