The John Brown University men's soccer team battled through a scoreless first half and scored five goals in the second half, using a goal and assist from both Conner Haney and Ryan Williams to defeat Central Baptist College, 5-0, last Tuesday evening at Alumni Field.
Haney and Williams led the Golden Eagles with three points apiece, junior Kelvin Omondi added his third and fourth goals of the season (four points) and junior Santiago Vanegas dished out a pair of assists as John Brown (2-3) finished the rout, winning its second-straight match.
"We had a lot of nice finishes tonight, but I'm most happy that while we started the game hasty, we settled down, found the right passes and that's what led to goals," said head coach Brenton Benware, who notched his first-career win at Alumni Field. "We started out the season with a lot of guys who were not healthy enough to play, and we had a great victory last week, and tonight's win was needed to confirm we're moving in the right direction."
Seniors Adam Holt and Connor Georgopulos shared the clean sheet with Holt picking up the victory, making a lone save in the contest.
Seven different players found the scoresheet for the Golden Eagles, who exacted revenge on the Mustangs (0-5) for a 0-0 double-overtime draw in 2015 at Alumni Field.
After a scoreless first half where JBU held an 8-3 shooting advantage, Omondi finally broke the tie in the 57th minute. Williams' pass in from the left wing was continued by Clark through towards the goal, eventually struck to the bottom-right corner of the goal past CBC keeper Bryce Deaton.
Central Baptist then mounted some offensive activity through the middle of the second half, but wasn't able to post a legitimate scoring chance. Then, John Brown broke it open.
The Golden Eagles struck for four goals in the final seven minutes, from Haney, Williams and Omondi, respectively in the 84th, 86th and 90th minutes. The Mustangs had the misfortunate of surrendering an own goal in the 89th minute, when a Williams centering pass as he neared the goal line deflected off a CBC defender.
Williams had a beautiful strike as insurance when Clark's patented flip-throw landed in the box. Haney then flicked the ball onto Williams at the top of the box, who let go a 22-yard cannon strike into the upper corner of the goal.
Deaton made five saves on eight Golden Eagle shots on goal and falls to 0-2 on the year. Callum Morris paced Central Baptist with four shot attempts.
The Golden Eagles return to action this Tuesday at No. 1 Oklahoma Wesleyan in Bartlesville. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m.
Sports on 09/17/2017