Box Score (xml)
SHAWNEE – The Bison struck early and iced it late as they stampeded past rival Southern Nazarene, 4-0, for their third-straight Great American Conference win of the year. Oklahoma Baptist remained perfect in league play with the win, and sit alone atop the GAC standings thanks to Saturday's victory.
A season-high 202 fans didn't have to wait long to the league's most potent offense to find the back of the net, as
Vicente Castillo pushed OBU ahead in just the third minute. The GAC's leading scorer received an inch-perfect cross from
Jonathan Martinez on the left side of the area and coolly finished far-post on SNU's Colton Hadlock.
Despite the early strike, neither side provided many more chances in the first half, settling into a midfield battle that yielded just three shots on goal between the two teams. As a result, OBU entered the break with a 1-0 lead.
It didn't take long for OBU to get off the mark in the second half, as
Matthew Giudice pounced on a loose ball from a long throw-in for the Bison in the 56th minute of play. With a two-goal advantage, the Bison continued to push the tempo.
Two goals scored in the final three minutes of the match proved more than enough to put away the Crimson Storm. Picking up a feed at the top of the box from
Martin Romero,
Thiago Dos Santos took a touch before finishing near-post on Hadlock in the 87th minute for his fourth goal of the season.
Jared Hill followed that up two minutes later, when, in the 89th minute, he got a hold of a loose ball following an OBU corner to put away the first goal of his career on Bison Hill and give OBU a 4-0 triumph over their rivals from Bethany, Oklahoma.
"It's nice to be in the driver's seat and control of our own destiny," said OBU head coach
Anthony Yousey after the match. "Now we just need to go to Arkansas and SNU and get one more win to lockdown home-field advantage for the conference tournament. It's a good place to be in, a good feeling. As long as we keep scoring goals and defending like we have, we'll be in good shape."
Oklahoma Baptist (5-4-1, 3-0 GAC) is the lone undefeated team in the GAC standings after winning all three home matches in the conference's double round robin format. The Bison have a brief break from league play this coming week, however, as they welcome Jarvis Christian College to the OBU Soccer Complex on Monday, Oct. 3 for a 7 p.m. match.
