SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Junior Katherine Keys completed a hat trick before the hour mark as the No. 19 John Brown University women's soccer team rolled past Oklahoma City, 5-1, on Tuesday evening (Oct. 27) at Alumni Field to clinch the 2026 Sooner Athletic regular season championship.

John Brown built a two-goal advantage before halftime, then buried the Stars with three goals in a span of just 7:35 after the break. Keys accounted for two of those second-half strikes after opening the scoring in the 14th minute, completing a three-goal night that carried the Golden Eagles to the title.

The championship is the 10th regular-season crown in program history and fourth consecutive for John Brown (12-1-3, 8-0-1 Sooner Athletic). JBU has won six of the last seven regular-season titles and will enter the upcoming Sooner Athletic tournament as the No. 1 seed.

Junior Tianna Jones helped create the opening breakthrough with a through ball that split the Oklahoma City defense up the right flank for senior Addie Craig. Craig carried forward and crossed into the goalmouth, where senior Julia Lambert redirected the ball to Keys for a finish into the open net from close range.

The Golden Eagles doubled the advantage in the 34th minute after Jones again started the move from midfield, this time switching play toward the left side. Freshman Sophia Alvarado pushed the attack forward for freshman Vanessa Frias, and when Oklahoma City goalkeeper Candela Blanco came off her line to disrupt the play, Frias collected the loose ball and deposited it into the empty goal for her third of the season.

JBU carried the 2-0 lead into halftime before turning the match into a rout shortly after the restart.

Lambert converted from the penalty spot in the 50th minute for her sixth goal of the season, and Keys struck again just over two minutes later. Jones supplied the assist on the latter, setting up Keys' ninth goal of the campaign to make it 4-0 in the 53rd.

Keys finished the hat trick in the 58th minute, once again off a Jones assist, pushing her season total to 10 and the Golden Eagle advantage to five.

Oklahoma City (10-4-2, 5-2-2) pulled one back in the 67th minute when Kayleigh Haygood scored from a corner off a Karima Marhabi assist, but the Stars never threatened the margin.

Keys was perfect with her opportunities, scoring on all three of her shots. Lambert finished with a goal and an assist, while Jones supplied two official assists after also helping initiate both first-half scoring sequences. Frias added a goal on two shots.

John Brown finished with a 14-6 advantage in shots and placed eight attempts on frame compared with two for OCU. The Golden Eagles scored on five of those eight shots on goal.

Freshman goalkeeper Ansley Fuchs (12-1-3) made one save in the victory as JBU closed the regular season unbeaten across its final 15 matches.

The Golden Eagles now turn their attention to postseason play, where the conference's top seed will host Texas Wesleyan in the quarterfinal round Tuesday (Nov. 3) at Alumni Field. The kickoff time remains tentative at 7 p.m., with tournament coverage available on the SAC Sports Network.

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