SILOAM SPRINGS -- Junior Alejandro Ramirez continued his scoring streak with a first-half brace, and the Golden Eagles built an early 3-0 advantage that it wouldn't relinquish as the John Brown University men's soccer team bested Central Christian (Kan.) by a 4-2 final on Tuesday (Oct. 17) evening at Alumni Field, setting up a showdown that will likely dictate the Sooner Athletic's regular season champion.
Ramirez, the league's reigning Offensive Player of the Week, has now scored five goals in his last two matches. Seniors Jacob Zamarron and Oscar Carballo rounded out the scoring, propelling the Golden Eagles (9-4-0, 6-0-0 Sooner Athletic) to a sixth-consecutive victory.
Senior Sebastian Varela made his first collegiate start in goal, and turned away one of three Central Christian shots on target, moving to 1-0-0 on the season.
Ramirez's first of the night came off a corner service from senior Erick Diaz. Carballo found Ramirez for his seventh of the season and quickly gave the hosts and early 1-0 lead just eight minutes into the match.
Then in a wild 1:22 span, the Alumni Field faithful saw three goals. Zamarron's 25-yard strike to the far right pocket of goal doubled the JBU lead to 3-0 in the 31st minute, just 45 seconds before a defensive miscue sprung Ramirez for a tap-in at the goal, handing the Golden Eagles all the momentum.
The Tigers responded 36 seconds later, however, to pull back with two.
The match then settled back in until just before haltime, when the Tigers were assessed a red card, forcing the visitors to play the second half down a man.
With the advantage, John Brown out-shot CCCK by a 12-4 margin, marred only by a Johnny Rodriguez conversion from the penalty spot with just under seven minutes left in the match.
Initiated by a Varela distribution to the left wing following a Tiger free kick from center, the Golden Eagles counter-attacked quickly in the 68th minute that finished with a give-and-go between Carballo and Zamarron. Chipped from the right flank, Zamarron sent Carballo in towards goal and, after a nifty readjustment to the ball in stride, Carballo delivered the death knell, and his ninth of the season, to the far left post, returning the John Brown lead to three, 4-1.
After Rodolfo Ramirez started the match, Central Christian's Timothy Foster entered in relief in the second half, and handed in a Herculean performance, stopping multiple would-be tallies for the Golden Eagles. Foster finished the half with four saves on five shots faced.
John Brown now faces its tallest task of the season in hosting No. 1 Mid-America Christian (Okla.) on Saturday (Oct. 21) evening at Alumni Field. MACU has won seven consecutive matches against the Golden Eagles dating back to 2018, most recently a 1-0 final score at Dill Field in the semifinals of the SAC tournament last season. The heavyweight bout is scheduled to commence at 7 p.m. and will be aired live on the SAC Sports Network.
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