BETHANY, OK: The Texas Wesleyan University men's soccer team (8-6-3) advanced to the SAC Tournament semifinal round with a 2-1 win at Southwestern Christian University (11-5-2) on Saturday.
With the win, the fourth seeded Rams advance to the semifinal round where they will meet regular season SAC Champion Oklahoma City University. That game is scheduled for a
2:00 p.m. start in Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
The Rams used a pair of late goals to claim the win on Saturday. They did so in spite of nine yellow cards.
SCU's Ivan Acimovic staked the Eagles to an early lead when he scored on assist from Mathew Yoeman in the 5th minute.
The game settled in after that. Shots were even 8-8 in the first half, while Texas Wesleyan's
Arturo Sanchez and SCU's Chris Muter each made one save to keep the score at 1-0.
In the 73rd minute, Texas Wesleyan's
Alex Ellis took a free kick that found
Alejandro Rey who tied the game with a header. Just 2:37 later, the Rams earned a corner kick, and Rey hit
Drake Trease for the game-winner.
"The boys just kept fighting today," said head coach
Tyler Powell. "With the new season putting everyone at 0-0, they knew they had to leave everything on the field, and they were able to get it done."
For the game, the Rams outshot the Eagles 16-15 and led 4-1 in corner kicks. Fouls were nearly even with 13 against SCU and 12 against Texas Wesleyan. Sanchez (6-5-3) picked up the win with five saves, while Muter made just two stops.
Oklahoma City went 9-4-2 overall and 7-1-1 in conference play this season. Their lone SAC loss came against the Rams, 2-1 in overtime at Martin Field. The Stars feature SAC Player of the Year Danny Frid, Co-Offensive Player of the Year Ruy Vas, and Coach of the Year Brian Harvey.
Ramblings
- Only four Texas Wesleyan players who saw action on Saturday did not get a yellow card.
- This is the second straight year the Rams have reached the SAC Semifinals.
- The Rams are 11-7-1 all-time in SAC play, 2-1 in SAC Tournament play, and 8-15-3 in postseason play.
- Texas Wesleyan is 2-1 all-time vs. SCU and 4-10-1 vs. OCU.
