OKLAHOMA CITY -- Junior Alejandro Gallardo pulled No. 19 John Brown University men's soccer within a goal in the 88th minute, but the Golden Eagles' late push came up short in a 2-1 loss to No. 3 Mid-America Christian (Okla.) in the Sooner Athletic tournament championship Wednesday evening (Nov. 11) at Dill Field.
John Brown twice struck the woodwork and stayed within striking distance throughout a physical championship match, but MACU found a goal in each half and carried a 2-0 advantage into the final three minutes. Gallardo finally broke through for the Golden Eagles, who generated two more opportunities before time expired but could not find an equalizer.
The defeat marked JBU's second consecutive loss in the SAC tournament championship match and moved the Golden Eagles to 12-5-1 on the season. John Brown, which entered the postseason as the No. 2 seed, must now await an at-large decision for a possible berth in the NAIA National Championships.
Gallardo nearly provided the opening goal in the 8th minute when his header beat goalkeeper Julian Huertas but struck the post. Mid-America Christian answered with pressure of its own, forcing junior goalkeeper Juan Almanza into a save in the 15th minute before Vito Callaci rattled the crossbar in the 28th.
Callaci eventually broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute, finishing a sequence created by Daniel Gallagher and Leonardo Leitao for his sixth goal of the season. John Brown generated consecutive corner kicks just before the goal but went into halftime trailing 1-0 after being outshot 7-4 in the opening period.
The Evangels doubled their advantage in the 55th minute when Ellis Dunn scored his second goal of the year. JBU continued searching for a response, and Gallardo came within inches again in the 78th minute when his attempt struck the crossbar.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 88th. Senior Amaury Jarry supplied the assist with a long cross from the left flank right to Gallardo's head as the shooter flicked on his second goal of the season at the back post to cut the deficit to 2-1 with 2:57 remaining.
John Brown immediately pressed for more. Gallardo sent a header wide less than two minutes later before freshman Chriss Salinas forced Huertas into a save with 33 seconds remaining, and the ensuing corner represented the Golden Eagles' final attacking opportunity.
Mid-America Christian (18-1-2) finished with a 12-9 advantage in shots and put three attempts on goal compared with two for JBU. The Golden Eagles earned five corner kicks to the Evangels' one, while Gallardo accounted for four of JBU's nine shots.
Almanza (10-5-1) made one save for John Brown. Huertas stopped Salinas' late attempt to preserve the one-goal advantage for MACU.
John Brown will learn its national-tournament fate Friday (Nov. 13), when the NAIA Men's Soccer Selection Show unveils the championship field at 6 p.m. Central on the NAIA YouTube channel. The Golden Eagles will need an at-large selection to extend their season into the national championship first and second rounds, scheduled for Nov. 19-21 at campus sites.
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