SILOAM SPRINGS -- Sophomore Aubrey Winter potted her ninth of the season in the 20th minute and senior Lauren Walter scored a second-half brace just 19 seconds apart as the top-seeded No. 8 John Brown University women's soccer team claimed the 2023 SAC tournament championship for the fourth-consecutive season with a 3-0 win over rival Science & Arts (Okla.) on Friday (Nov. 10) night at Alumni Field.
The win guarantees the Golden Eagles (17-2-1) its sixth-consecutive trip to the NAIA National Championships via the league's lone autoberth. John Brown improved to 5-2-1 all-time against the Drovers (14-6-0) in the tournament's final round and captured the program's sixth tournament title overall under head coach Dr. Kathleen Paulsen.
The Drovers (14-5-0), which had its eight-match winning streak broken, asked the first question of the match just eight minutes in when the nation's second-leading scorer, Alicia Rey, sent a free kick 30 yards from the left flank that caught the right post, but stayed out of goal. Recovering, senior Emily Dobbins then saved the rebound off the foot of Avery Walker to keep the match scoreless.
Once calm returned, the squads settled in and battled for positioning, with the Golden Eagles maintaining majority possession. JBU responded with a pair of shots – one on target, before the Drover produced a strong chance in the box off a corner service, but Luna Knoester's headed sailed over goal.
Then, off a throw-in on the right flank in the 20th minute, John Brown worked into a dangerous part of the middle of the pitch, but a failed clearance bounced right to freshman Brooklyn Hendricks, who promptly booted to the far side a focused pass. After bouncing through a pair of players, Winter collected the pass and while falling away to her left, shot the ball back to the right side of goal, besting USAO keeper Ashlyn Lonberg for her ninth of the season and fourth game-winner.
The helper was the second of Hendrick's young career.
The visitors nearly leveled the match before the intermission when Rey danced through the John Brown back line and into a dangerous scoring position, just as she fired a sure-goal from inside the left side of the box, senior Aniyah Gibbs came to the rescue, blocking the Drovers' second bid at breaking through the John Brown clean sheet.
Having out-shot the Drovers by a 9-4 margin through 45 minutes, the Golden Eagles came out of the break and immediately pieced together a pair of scoring efforts just 19 seconds apart in the 53rd minute of action.
Jump-started by a precision tackle of Rey by sophomore Olivia Fish in the midfield, the ball squirted free up the right flank to Julia Lambert with speed and open space. The negotiated through a trio of Drover defenders as she closed in goal, forcing Lonberg off her line. With the visiting keeper caught, Lambert calmly laid off a pass to her left for a one-touch tap-in from Walter, forcing the Alumni Field crowd on its feet at the impressive play.
With the advantage now doubled at two, the Drovers sent a ball forward off the ensuing kick off, but freshman Zoe Roberts rejected the notion, and booted a ball forward through the Drover back line. Walter shrugged off her defender and dashed up the left flank before breaking in on goal. Then from 12 yards out, the John Brown leading scorer ripped a left-footed missile to the top left corner of goal to collect her 18th strike of the season.
The momentum grew too strong in favor of the Golden Eagles as the hosts built a 15-5 shooting advantage over the final 45 minutes of action. USAO nearly found broke through in the 70th minute, but Rey's attempt rolled through the box and missed the far left post by centimeters.
Two of senior Emily Dobbins' three saves on the evening came in the final 10 minutes of action, but neither chance was as difficult a task as Rey's two previous near-misses. Dobbins collected her ninth shutout of the season and improved to 10-0-1 on the year.
Longberg saved four of seven chances, taking the loss, before Caitlin Bishop took over goalkeeping duties in the 59th minute. Bishop made all three saves required of her.
Walter and senior Rachael Stone led all players with five shot attempts, while Rey was limited to four, none of which were on goal. John Brown finished the night with a 24-9 shooting advantage.
The Golden Eagles, now winners of 12 consecutive matches in the SAC tournament – dating back to 2020, will now wait for its placement into the 2023 NAIA National Championships Field. The national selection show is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. Monday (Nov. 13) afternoon via YouTube, and JBU will hope to host its own Opening Round. The Golden Eagles have hosted an Opening Round four times in the last five seasons, advancing to the final site twice.
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