BETHANY, OK: Senior defender
Alex Ellis led a furious comeback with a second-half hat-trick, but the Texas Wesleyan University men's soccer team (9-8-1) came up just short in a 4-3 Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinal contest at Southwestern Christian University (14-5) on Friday.
The Eagles came out looking like the third seed hosting the sixth seed in the tournament and racked up a 13-0 shot count in the first half. Goals from Chad Dennis and Jamie Campbell gave SCU a 2-0 advantage at the break.
The lead quickly grew to 3-0 with a goal from Igor Stojanovic just 3:33 into the second half.
Ellis, a senior defender from Huyton, England, who entered the game with three career goals, suddenly became unstoppable. In the 51st minute, he drilled a free kick to get the Rams on the board. The Eagles caught the Rams on their heels as Sojanovic netted his second goal of the game just 44 seconds later, but Ellis was not done.
In the 84th minute, the Rams were awarded a penalty kick and Ellis was good on the attempt. Things really got interesting when Ellis blasted a shot from the left side that went off the crossbar and into the net with 1:18 to play. Unfortunately time ran out on Ellis and the Rams, and SCU escaped with a 4-3 victory.
With the win, the Eagles advance to next week's SAC semifinal game, where they will meet the winner of John Brown University and Wayland Baptist University.
The loss ends Texas Wesleyan's season at 9-8-1 overall, marking the fifth consecutive season that the program has been over .500.
For the game, the Eagles outshot the Rams 21-12 in total shots and 13-6 in shots on goal. Corner kicks were even at 7-7, and fouls were 13-11 favoring the home team.
Marko Jovanovic (8-5-1) made a season-high nine saves for the Rams. Chris Muter and Kyle Mickleburgh combined to make three saves for the Eagles.
Ramblings
- The Rams are now 2-3 all-time against Southwestern Christian. They are also 2-3 all-time in the SAC Tournament.
- This game was a rematch of last year's SAC Quarterfinal. The Rams scored a pair of late goals to take a 2-1 win in that game which was also played in Bethany, OK.
- With nine wins this season, head coach
Tyler Powell is currently one victory behind Alex Alkhazsvilly's program record of 52 career wins. Alkhazsvilly went 52-59-5 in six seasons (1989-94). Powell holds a career record of 51-33-10 in five seasons (2011-15).
