John Brown senior striker Ryan Duncan netted a goal less than a minute into the second half while freshman netminder Adam Holt recorded four saves in the second half, helping the Golden Eagles to a 1-0 victory over No. 5 Oklahoma Wesleyan Thursday at Alumni Field.
Having lost 5-2 to the Eagles in last season's opener in Bartlesville, JBU (2-3-0) was looking for some measure of redemption Thursday in its first contest against a ranked opponent in 2014.
"I thought our team showed a lot of mental toughness tonight," head coach Scott Marksberry said. "When you play OKWU, you have to be prepared for going long stretches without the ball. That can be mentally exhausting, but our boys showed a great deal of resolve and patience. It was a complete team effort tonight and a win that we should be proud of.
"Adam put in the best performance of his young career tonight. Now we need to get our legs back, and prepare for a very different style of play on Tuesday than what we saw tonight."
Holt (2-3-0) earned his first-career shutout by collecting four saves in the second stanza. All four required a flash of acrobatics, including his first in the 56th minute, when he tipped an Ivan Ristic direct kick over the crossbar. The 82nd minute saw another point-blank save when Holt dove to his right to deflect a Khesanio Hall header attempt from six yards away.
With regulation time ticking to a close, Holt had to preserve his first-ever clean sheet one last time in the 87th minute when a loose ball made its way to the top of the 18. Aleksander Simovic unleashed a shot destined for the top left corner, but once again, Holt jetted to his right and deflected the ball harmlessly out of play.
The Golden Eagles will now rest for the weekend and resume play on Tuesday when they travel to NCAA II Rogers State (Okla.). Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m.
Sports on 09/14/2014