Sophomore Katherine Haar netted a goal in each half, and the John Brown University women's soccer team won its 27th straight game at Alumni Field as the Golden Eagles held on to defeat Mid-America Christian (Okla.) by a 2-1 final on Saturday afternoon.
Playing with a shorthanded lineup, John Brown (10-2, 4-0 Sooner Athletic Conference) remains one of the final two unbeatens in conference play after MACU fell into the loss column with Saturday's result.
With goals in the 29th and 48th minutes, Haar increased her goal total to five on the season, but more importantly, helped JBU keep pace with Science and Arts (Okla.) atop the conference standings.
While the Evangels (7-2, 2-1) never had much offense churning throughout the match, a defensive miscue allowed Alissa Tapp's sixth goal of the season with seven minutes remaining to close the gap on a rather lopsided match with JBU holding a 19-5 shooting advantage.
Haar's first tally of the afternoon came off a MACU effort to pull John Brown offsides, but Haar snuck in behind the back line and took a perfect cross from the right flank from senior Samantha Weber to rip a shot past Evangel keeper Jennifer Starwalt for a 1-0 lead.
Boasting a 9-2 shooting advantage at the intermission, John Brown rolled into the second half pushing the play in the Evangel half. Finally, off a beautiful rush from freshman Sienna Nealon, Haar tapped in the rebound off Nealon's shot in the box for a commanding 2-0 advantage.
Starwalt was dinged with the loss, despite making eight saves. Freshman Maggie Allen recorded a pair of saves, stretching her season to a perfect 4-0.
The Golden Eagles will now enjoy a week off until welcoming Bacone (Okla.) to Alumni Field on Saturday, Oct. 14, for a 4 p.m. matchup.
Sports on 10/11/2017