WAXAHACHIE, Texas -- Junior Alejandro Ramirez scored his third brace in five matches, and seniors Jacob Zamarron and Oscar Carballo each recorded a goal and an assist as the John Brown University men's soccer team ran away with a 4-0 win over Southwestern A.G. (Texas) on Saturday (Oct. 28) afternoon at the Lions Athletic Complex.
With the win, the Golden Eagles (11-5-0, 8-1-0 Sooner Athletic) lock down the two seed in the upcoming Sooner Athletic tournament, guaranteeing JBU home field advantage at least through the semifinals. The eight conference wins this season not only tied a program record, equaled only in 2019 and 2015, it's only the third time in since John Brown joined the league in 1995 that the Golden Eagles won at least eight SAC matches in a single season.
John Brown dominated the match from start to finish, out-shooting the Lions by a healthy 15-3 margin. Senior Sebastian Varela moved to 3-0-0 on the year and earned his first collegiate clean sheet, making a save on Jonahan Lopez's shot attempt in the 77th minute of action, when the Golden Eagles already enjoyed a 4-0 lead.
The match was scoreless until just before the half when the Lions defense was unable to clear Carballo's service from the right corner flag. The ball continued to the opposite elbow of the box, where Zamarron collected possession and let go a well-place strike through a crowded box back to the right side of goal, sneaking past David Calvete Beltran for a 1-0 John Brown lead after 45 minutes of play.
The game-winner was the 18th of Zamarron's career. That mark ranks second all-time in program history. Then, the visitors erupted for three goals in the first 20 minute of action in the second half.
Less than four minutes into the latter period, senior Alonso Arrieta played sophomore Steven Cisneros out to the left flank, where Cisneros crossed the ball into the box, finding Ramirez's head despite the triple-coverage from Lion defenders. The header went straight to the floor and just tucked inside the right goalpost for Ramirez's ninth goal of the season.
Senior Erick Diaz played Carballo short from the corner flag in the 52nd minute, allowing Carballo to take two steps with the ball into an unchallenged area in the box before the JBU leading scorer ripped his 11th of the year to the top shelf of goal, moving the margin to three in favor of John Brown.
Ramirez employed a bit of theatrics to complete his brace just 13 minutes later. Zamarron played him up the right wing on the counter-attack. Calvete Beltran immediately bolted out of the box to challenge Ramirez, but the crafty forward maneuvered wide of the keeper and, while falling towards the sidelines, let go of a rolling prayer as his momentum carried him to the corner. One final SAGU defender's attempt at clearing the ball of the goal line failed, producing Ramirez his 10th strike of the year.
The Golden Eagles improved to 12-0-0 all-time against the Lions, dating back to the first meeting in 2013.
Now with its place in the tournament solidified, the Golden Eagles will now wait for the final match of the Sooner Athletic season to be played Monday night between Southwestern A.G. and Oklahoma City. The winner will travel to Siloam Springs to take on JBU at Alumni Field on Friday (Nov. 3) afternoon at 4 p.m. The quarterfinal round action will air live on the SAC Sports Network.
FOLLOW THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Don't miss a minute of the latest action surrounding JBU Athletics by following the Golden Eagles on Twitter (@JBUathletics), Instagram (@JBUathletics) and Facebook (/JBUathletics). Catch every Golden Eagle home game and select away games on the SAC Sports Network, available online or for download on your favorite streaming device.
