FORT WORTH, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University women's soccer team (14-3) took a 5-1 win over Mid-America Christian University (10-7) in quarterfinal action of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament at Martin Field Friday night.
With the win, the third seeded Rams advance to face second seeded University of Science & Arts (15-3-1) in the SAC Semifinals.
Coach Speak
"This was a good hard-fought win tonight," Head Coach
Josh Gibbs said after the game. "I don't think the score really tells the story. MACU fought hard for ninety minutes and really kept us under pressure. We gave up some good looks that we weren't punished for. On the other side, we were very dangerous and efficient in the final third tonight. That was the difference. We're going to have to clean things up to have success on Tuesday, but we're excited for the challenge. I really love watching this group play."
The Game
Friday's game was a rematch of Texas Wesleyan's regular season finale which the Lady Rams won 3-1 in Oklahoma City.
Freshman
Tameir Grosvenor continued her assault on the Sooner Athletic Conference with two goals and an assist in her first collegiate postseason game. Grosvenor now has 23 goals and 52 points on the season. She is one goal shy of third on the school's single season scoring list and is currently tied for third on the single season points list.
Grosvenor got the scoring started in the 8th minute on a beautiful forward ball from
Katie Baugh. Senior captain
Samantha Moore converted a penalty kick five minutes later following a hand-ball in the box for what proved to be the game-winning goal.
MACU kept the pressure on when Kierra Morgan drilled a free kick from 25 yards out in the 24th minute.
Christy Zwart made a tremendous save in the 29th minute to preserve the one-goal lead. In the 32nd minute, a header from Moore was blocked by the MACU defense, but Grosvenor was there to clean things up and push the score to 3-1.
That score held until the 69th minute when Moore and Grosvenor played two forward passes that set up a goal from
Taylor Ross.
Megan Register capped the scoring with a penalty kick in the 83rd minute.
By the Numbers
The game was remarkably tight statistically. The Rams led 20-17 in shots, but a very efficient TXWES team turned 12 shots on goal into five goals. MACU led 3-2 in corner kicks and 20-16 in fouls.
Christy Zwart (12-2) made six saves in the win, while MACU's Jennifer Starwalt made seven stops.
Up Next
The Rams will take on USAO, ranked 21st nationally, in Chickasha, OK, on Tuesday. That SAC Semifinal contest is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
Ramblings
- Grosvenor trails Jessica Watton (2011) by one goal for third on the school's scoring list. She is tied for third with Watton on the points list at 52.
- The Rams are one win shy of matching the school record for wins in a season at 15 (2011).
- The Rams lead the all-time series with MACU 4-3. USAO leads the all-time series 9-3-2 including a 2-1 victory in Chickasha earlier this season.
- USAO ended Texas Wesleyan's season a year ago with a 1-0 win in Fort Worth in the SAC Semifinals. The Rams are 4-4 all-time in SAC Tournament play having reached the semifinal round in four of five years of membership.
