Senior Jacob Zamarron deposited his league-leading 12th goal of the season and the John Brown defense banded together to complete its second clean sheet of the season as the Golden Eagles men's soccer team completed a 1-0 victory at Central Christian (Kan.) on Saturday, Oct. 22.
Entering the match on a four-game unbeaten streak, the Tigers (8-4-4, 2-3-2 Sooner Athletic) had just knocked off Science & Arts (Okla.) in Chickasha, but the Golden Eagles (8-2-3, 4-2-1) outshot the hosts 12-9 and quickly returned to the win column after Tuesday's setback at top-ranked Mid-America Christian (Okla.).
In the 11th minute, sophomore Alejandro Ramirez drew a foul in the box, and Zamarron calmly converted on the ensuing penalty kick to give John Brown its lone tally of the afternoon. The conversion improved Zamarron to 1-of-2 from the spot on the season, and continued his goal output as the SAC's leading mark.
While the teams combined for 21 shots on the afternoon, both sides had a difficult time finding the target as the Golden Eagles edged the hosts 4-3 in shots on frame. Junior Erick Diaz led JBU with three attempts, while Ramirez and senior Ivan Garcia each posted two attempts on the afternoon.
Sophomore Kyle Hix improved to 4-1-1 on the season making all three saves required of him. Sebastian Herrera took the loss between the sticks for the Tigers also making a trio of saves, conceding just the penalty kick.
With one week left in the regular season, John Brown returns to action to close out the SAC table with a pair of home games, starting with a 7 p.m. matchup with Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) on Thursday (Oct. 27).
MACU 2, John Brown 1
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Despite a 10-6 shooting advantage in the second half, the Golden Eagles weren't able to level the match after conceding a goal with 8:12 left, as the John Brown University men's soccer team fell 2-1 in a gritty slugfest at No. 1 Mid-America Christian (Okla.) on Tuesday night, Oct. 18, at Dill Field.
Senior Ivan Garcia's second of the season squared the match at one apiece just before halftime, but John Brown (7-2-3, 3-2-1 Sooner Athletic) wasn't able to find a second goal despite playing a man-up for the final 58:38 of the evening.
Garcia's 28-yard free kick from outside the box on the left side took a minor deflection off the wall, but still had plenty of momentum to find the back of the goal, tied the game at one with just 30 seconds left in the first half but the visitors weren't able to find additional scoring in the second half.
John Brown outshot the Evangels 10-6 in the second frame, but Georg Westerlund's fourth of the season all but ended the JBU upset bid in the 82nd minute as the forward tapped in a rebound at the right side of the goal for the game-winner.
MACU (12-1-1, 5-0-1) opened the scoring in the 11th minute as a result of Jack Price finishing off a combination play from Westerlund and Bruno Sperandio in the middle of the box.