SILOAM SPRINGS -- Sophomore Erick Diaz struck in the 29th minute while junior Ivan Garcia's free kick curled into the goal just before halftime, handing the Golden Eagles a lead it wouldn't relinquish as the John Brown University men's soccer team posted a 2-0 victory on Friday (Nov. 5) evening at Alumni Field in the Sooner Athletic tournament quarterfinals.
The fourth-seeded Golden Eagles (8-9-0) advance to face top-seeded and No. 3 Mid-America Christian (Okla.) on Monday (Nov. 8) evening at Dill Field in the semifinal round. The match will air live on the SAC Sports Network.
After the obligatory feeling out portion of the match ended, John Brown began to send shots towards the Drover (9-7-3) goal, racking up eight in the first half, and allowing just three.
A nightmarish turnover in the midfield sprung the JBU counter-attack as Diaz picked off a poor pass and immediately turned toward goal with speed. After beating one man and cutting right, Diaz sent a strike to the bottom left corner of the goal – his third of the year – past USAO keeper Nathan Fitch for a 1-0 advantage for the hosts 29 minutes into the match.
Fifteen minutes later, and just before halftime, freshman Alejandro Ramirez was dragged down in the middle of the field, requiring a restart and a free kick opportunity for John Brown in a prime scoring area. Garcia was up to the task.
Bending a shot around the five-man Drover wall, Garcia's offering curled to the left and snuck inside the left post, doubling the John Brown lead and providing the hosts with an insurance marker for his first goal of the 2021 season.
With all the momentum at the intermission, John Brown played strong defense and largely limited the same Drover attack that posted three on John Brown a week ago to just one scoring chance. On that play, freshman Kyle Hix was up to the task, denying Angelo Leendertse's go at goal from inside the 18 yard line. Hix dove to his left, pushing the shot out of play.
Both keepers made one save in the match, but Hix improved his record to 6-8-0 on the season and collected his fourth clean sheet of 2021.
While the Drovers held a 6-0 margin in corner kick chances, the Golden Eagles out-shot the visitors by a 12-9 margin, and improved to 5-5-0 at Alumni Field this season.
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