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Oklahoma City, Okla. – The John Brown University men’s soccer squad was selected to finish fourth in the Sooner Athletic Conference, per the release of the 2019 SAC Men’s Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll by the league office on Wednesday (Aug. 7) afternoon.
No.
Institution
Points
1.
Science & Arts (Okla.) (5)
76
2.
Mid-America Christian (Okla.) (3)
67
3.
Oklahoma City (2)
63
4.
John Brown (Ark.)
56
5.
Wayland Baptist (Texas)
49
6.
Southwestern Christian (Okla.)
46
7.
Texas Wesleyan
29
8.
Central Christian (Kan.)
28
9.
Southwestern A.G. (Texas)
21
10.
Okla. Panhandle State
21
Despite not winning the Sooner Athletic regular season or tournament title, perennial favorite Science & Arts (Okla.) was picked to wear the conference crown with 76 points and five first-place votes. The Drovers reached the SAC tournament championship match and finished second in the 2018 regular season table.
Upstart defending Sooner Athletic tournament champion Mid-America Christian (Okla.) owned the No. 2 spot in the poll, picking up 67 points and three first-place votes. The Evangels captured its first-ever tournament crown last year, prevailing over USAO in penalties after a 1-1 draw through double overtime. The Evangels were the lone SAC representative in last year’s NAIA National Championships Opening Round. MACU bested Kansas Wesleyan, 2-1, before falling in the Round of 16 to eventual National Champion, Central Methodist (Mo.).
Oklahoma City reeled in 63 points and a pair of first-place votes to stand third in the poll, and just seven points behind the Stars, John Brown secured the fourth spot with 56 points.
The 2018 campaign started promising for the Golden Eagles as John Brown posted three consecutive wins to begin the year, including a dramatic 1-0 win over No. 19 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) in the season opener. Allowing just one goal against in the first three matches, JBU took its undefeated record to Orange Beach, Ala., where it took on the chin a pair of 4-1 losses, including to No. 3 William Carey (Miss.). The rest of the non-conference slate finished with a draw and a loss, John Brown’s first loss to Oklahoma Wesleyan since 2013, snapping JBU’s four-game unbeaten streak over the Eagles.
In conference play, John Brown suffered three losses in its first five matches, but also picked up a win over Science & Arts at Alumni Field. A big road win at Southwestern Christian, 2-1, was quickly negated with a tough 1-0 loss at Central Christian before JBU finished the regular season with a pair of wins by a combined 11-2 score over Texas Wesleyan and Southwestern A.G.
In a grudge match, John Brown pulled off its second win of the season at Southwestern Christian in the Sooner Athletic tournament quarterfinals, but its season was ended in the semifinals with a 4-1 loss at USAO as the Drovers avenged its earlier loss at Alumni Field.
Wayland Baptist (Texas) posted 49 points in the fifth slot, while Southwestern Christian (Okla.) landed in the sixth spot, recording 46 points. Texas Wesleyan (29) stood in seventh, while Central Christian (Okla.), Southwestern A.G. (Texas) and Oklahoma Panhandle State were the remaining teams in the poll, with 28, 21 and 15 points, respectively. Panhandle State will take to the pitch for the first time this season.
Head coach Brenton Benware, who enters his third season commanding the sidelines at Alumni Field, welcomes back returns 13 letterwinners from last year’s squad and will hope that bringing in 10 new faces to the program will help ensure a winning season. With the losses of All-Conference selections in Ryan Williams, Conner Haney and Giovani Bejarano, the Golden Eagles are certain to feature a number of new faces in the starting 11 as JBU returns just over a quarter of its scoring output from a season ago. Matriculation hit the back line just as hard, but the Golden Eagles will feature its two primary goal-stoppers patrolling the line in 2019.
Fortunately, the Golden Eagles received good news as of late – former NAIA All-America honorable mention and Sooner Athletic Player of the Year Kelvin Omondi will be making his way back to Siloam Springs. In his last two seasons, the Kenyan has tallied 31 goals and totaled 72 points. Also, the third-leading scorer on the team will return as Micah Herrmann comes back for a sophomore campaign after posting six goals and six assists (18 points). Two of those six goals proved to be game-winners.
On the back line, JBU will enjoy the return of sophomore Adrian Immel, the SAC Freshman of the Year, to help improve the defensive effort. Also returning for a final year is senior Ryan Smith, whose 2018 season was cut short due to injuries. John Brown will undoubtedly look for a strong second season from returning local product Jack Bos as well.In goal, senior Britt Wisener returns for his swan song at John Brown, as the Houston, Texas native posted career numbers in 2018 in his real first season of action. The 6-foot-4 keeper recorded a trio of clean sheets last year and stopped over 70 percent of shots fired on frame as the Golden Eagles yielded just 1.76 goals-against per game last year. In a heroic effort, Wisener posted a career-best 10 saves at Southwestern Christian in a 2-1 victory last year.
John Brown kicks off the 2019 campaign this afternoon in Texarkana with a match against the Eagles at 5 p.m. This matchup is coming off the heels of a 4-1 JBU win over Texas A&M in 2017. The Golden Eagles will then return home for a match later in the week, Friday, in its home opener as the Blue and Gold welcome Lyon (Ark.) to Alumni Field just in time for freshman move-in day on campus. JBU is 4-0 all-time against the Scots in Siloam Springs.
TEXARKANA, Texas – Freshman Jacob Zamarron made his presence felt in a big way with a goal in his first collegiate start, and sophomore Micah Herrmann returned to scoring important goals with the winner just before halftime as the John Brown University men’s soccer team escape southwest Arkansas with a 2-1 win over Texas A&M – Texarkana on Monday (Aug. 19) evening at Morgan Field.
“We had a lot of pressure early and were able to capitalize on a couple of goals as a result,” said head coach Brenton Benware. “I’m proud of the guys for digging deep to pull out a win on the road and with several key players out for much of the night.”
The Golden Eagles (1-0) return to Siloam Springs having won the season-opening match now in back-to-back seasons. Last year, JBU dispatched MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) at Alumni Field, 1-0. The new campaign started off nearly as dramatic.
Four shots and three corner kicks peppered the opening 11 minutes of play. In the sixth, freshman Oscar Carballo’s attempt to put John Brown up 1-0 was deflected away at the goal line by a Texarkana defender, keeping the match scoreless. Carballo’s second early attempt on goal was stopped by goalkeeper Salvador Hernandez.
After a bit of a lull, the Golden Eagles broke through – a Zamarron header in the middle of the box to put away his first collegiate goal in the 27th minute. Reigning SAC Freshman of the Year Adrian Immel’sservice from the right flank was perfectly placed for Zamarron to redirect the volley on frame.
The goal seemed to build momentum for the visitors as John Brown posted three shots and a pair of corner kicks over the next eight minutes, maintaining the large portion of possession. Then, an Eagle yellow card setup JBU to capitalize on another service attempt into the box.
In the 44th minute, junior Jessie Zavala’s free-kick service from the right flank into the box towards the back post found a sliding Herrmann, who beat Hernandez from about 12 yards out, doubling the visitor’s lead. While Zavala earned his first point as a Golden Eagle, Herrmann’s strike was the seventh of his career, and would hold to stand as his third game-winner.
While the hosts out-shot John Brown 6-5 in the second half, senior keeper Britt Wisener (1-0-0) shrugged off a Texarkana goal in the 52nd minute to come up with a big save in the 55th to preserve the one-goal Golden Eagle lead.
The match became chippy in the second half as the official flashed four cautions. The John Brown defense continued to shut down the Eagle strikers as Texarkana attempted two shots in the final 10 minutes, but both were off target.
Wisener finished the match with one save to move to 1-0-0, while Hernandez took the loss for the hosts.
Carballo and Zavala led JBU with two shots on goal.
SILOAM SPRINGS – Sophomore Goncalo Verissimo tallied a hat trick and freshman Jacob Zamarron followed up an impressive collegiate debut with a five-point performance as the John Brown University men’s soccer squad plastered seven goals in its Alumni Field debut in a 7-1 win over Lyon College on Friday (Aug. 23) evening.
Freshman Oscar Carballo opened the scoring in the 12th minute while sophomore Adrian Immel tallied a goal with just 40 seconds left in the contest as the duo each enjoyed securing their respective first collegiate goals. In between the bookending strikes was Verissimo’s second-half hat trick that powered the Golden Eagles (2-0-0) to five goals in the final 12 minutes of play.
Carballo’s strike early to the far right side of the goal was followed up by Zamarron’s singular effort that saw the freshman lose a Scot (0-2-0) defender in dramatic fashion deep in the left corner. With the defender horizontal on the pitch, Zamarron took a few strides towards goal and unloaded a shot to the far right side over Lyon keeper Gianni Santin to double the hosts’ advantage.
The 2-0 difference held until the break, but the Scots pulled within one in the 61st minute when an errant defensive play allowed Nate Ayalew to break in on senior Britt Wisener undefended off a pass from Vitor Fujiwara. Ayalew’s strike, his first of the year, halved the hosts’ lead with just under 30 minutes left to play.
Although the Golden Eagles carried possession for the majority of the match, it wasn’t until Verissimo’s first goal in the 79th minute did the floodgates open. Senior Amilcar Gonzalez’s service off a set piece from the left side found the head of Verissimo charging the box to hand the sophomore his first of the season. Just over a minute later, he doubled his output by finishing off a passing play that started from sophomore Micah Herrmann in the midfield. His pass found Zamarron up top who took possession into the box before dumping it over to Verissimo for the finish.
Gonzalez added a goal of his own less than a minute later. Then, less than another minute later, Verissimo finished off the three-goal outing in a mere 3:10 span with the strike of the night.
Zamarron again fed Verissimo in the middle, but Verissimo this time pocketed the strike into the upper right 90 of the goal to push the JBU lead to 6-1.
The goal bonanza didn’t stop there, however, as Immel intercepted an errant Santin clearance in the midfield before chipping the keeper from nearly midfield with just 40 seconds left in the match.
Wisener made one save before making way for freshman Logan Campbell who made his collegiate debut. Logan finished the final 6:21 of the match.
In the physical matchup, John Brown finished the evening out-shooting the guests by a 20-8 margin, while the visitors racked up 21 fouls and five cautions.
JBU returns to action on Friday (Aug. 30) evening at Alumni Field. The Golden Eagles will welcome Bethel (Kan.) to Siloam Springs as part of the annual First Friday Fútbol festivities.
SILOAM SPRINGS – Freshman Jacob Zamarron and senior Britt Wisener were selected as the SAC’s first Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, the league office announced on Monday (Aug. 26) for their performances against Texas A&M – Texarkana and Lyon.
The selection was the first for Zamarron, who posted seven points in his first two collegiate outings. Meanwhile, the honor is the second in the career of Wisener, who backstopped the Golden Eagles (2-0-0) to a pair of victories.
John Brown picked up a tough 2-1 road win at Texarkana (0-1-0) to open the season. Zamarron tallied in his collegiate debut – a header in the box off a service from sophomore Adrian Immel. The goal was instrumental in building the lead for JBU as the visitors would hold on for the narrow victory.
Wisner needed to make just one save in the match against Texarkana.
Back at Alumni Field last weekend against the Scots (0-2-0), the Rogers native wasted little time in finding the scoresheet as he booted home a strike from just inside the left corner of the box, lofting a shot over the Scot keeper. While his goal would hold up as the game-winner, he later distributed a trio of primary assists in the second half, including twice in sophomore Goncalo Verissimo hat trick effort to lead the Golden Eagles to a 7-1 lopsided win over the Scots in the home opener.
Wisener, from Houston, Texas, gobbled up a pair of saves in the victory, moving to 12-8-1 all-time in his collegiate career.
Currently, Zamarron is tied for 10th in the nation with his seven-point outburst over the two-match stretch.
Up Next The Golden Eagles welcome Bethel (Kan.) to Alumni Field on Friday (Aug. 30) for a 6:30 p.m. kick off. The match will be part of the university’s annual First Friday Fùtbol celebration.
SILOAM SPRINGS – After redshirting last season and missing the first two matches of 2019, senior striker Kelvin Omondi returned in determined fashion as he scored the game-winner, powering the John Brown University men’s soccer team past Bethel (Kan.), 2-0, on Friday (Aug. 30) evening at Alumni Field.
The match was never in doubt, as the Golden Eagles (3-0-0) continued to ask questions of the Bethel defense and keeper Albert Bratthammar all night long.
Bratthammar recorded nine saves in the first half, including point-blank chances on rebounds that could have given the hosts a lopsided advantage at the bathroom break. JBU out-shot the Threshers (0-2-0) by a 13-1 margin over the first 45 minutes of play.
Finally, shortly after the intermission in the 48th minute, Omondi’s much-anticipated return culminated in a dramatic rush up the field that saw the former Sooner Athletic Player of the Year pot his first goal since Oct. 24, 2017.
Freshman Jacob Zamarron kept the ball in play up the right sidelines and fed freshman Dalton Georgopulos up the field – allowing Georgopulos to flick a pass across the 18 to Omondi on the left wing. In typical fashion, Omondi danced around his defender and delivered a shot to the short side, breaking Bratthammar’s shutout bid and handing John Brown a 1-0 advantage.
Freshman Oscar Carballo nearly netted his second of the season in the 55th off a corner kick, but the Thresher defense was somehow able to keep the header off the goal line to maintain the slim 1-0 score.
En route to posting 15 shot attempts in the second half as a team, Zamarron again struck for his third goal in as many games in the 73rd. Sophomore Jack Bos earned his first collegiate point when his boot into space sprung loose Zamarron past his defender and in on Bratthammar all alone. As the Bethel keeper came out to challenge, Zamarron chipped a lovely ball over the leaping keeper and to the far left post and in – giving John Brown the insurance goal it was seeking.
Despite essentially no offense to speak of to help relieve him of pressure, Bratthammar continued to answer the call and keep the visitors competitive through the second half. The Golden Eagles also missed a few glorious chances, however, none bigger than junior Samuel Estrada’s effort to dance through the back line and deposit a shot to the far right post that just missed wide.
Senior Britt Wisener collected a pair of saves to post the squad’s first clean sheet of the season. Bos, sophomore Adrian Immel, freshman Matej Urbanija and junior Marcelo Mendes all turned in a full 90 minutes and limited Bethel to just four shot attempts.
Bratthammar finished the match with 13 saves, but was dinged with the loss despite the Herculean effort.
Up Next The Golden Eagles will take an eight-day break before returning to Alumni Field to welcome No. 20 Columbia for a 5 p.m. kickoff on Saturday (Sept. 7).
BRINKLEY – Brinkley High School today won a game of football from the Wynne High School by the score of 11 to 0. The locals were outweighed 10 pounds to the man. Hartley, Woodfin, and McCreight of Brinkley deserve special mention.
Touchdowns, Woodfin 1, McCreight 1. Fred McCreight kicked one goal from touchdown.
LITTLE ROCK – Mark your calendars and plan your travel for Nov. 5 to College Station. Little Rock, the reigning back-to-back Sun Belt Conference Tournament Champions, will open the 2019-20 season at Reed Arena against Texas A&M.
Tip-off time and broadcast information is still yet to be announced.
Not only a battle of two programs that annually are at the top of their respective conferences, the game will be a matchup of coaches who rank fifth (Texas A&M’s Gary Blair) and sixth (Little Rock’s Joe Foley) on the active career wins list.
The game against the Aggies marks the second announced contest the Trojans will play against a Southeastern Conference opponent. Little Rock will face Arkansas on Dec. 21 at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock.
Season tickets for the 2019-20 Little Rock Women’s Basketball schedule are currently on sale by contacting the Trojan Ticket Office at (501) 565-8257.
FAYETTEVILLE –Carol Barbosa and Amna Osmankovic each posted seven kills, Barbosa was named to the All-Tournament Team and a match featuring 11 ties and five lead changes didn’t fall Little Rock’s way in the Arkansas Classic finale against Northwestern State, 3-0.
Set scores were 25-20, 25-17 and 25-17.
Northwestern State 3, Little Rock 0 | 25-20, 25-17, 25-17 | Box Score | PDF
Behind the Box Score
The first set featured 10 ties and four lead changes. Little Rock had two aces in the set to NSU’s none.
Nathalia Vigineski served up an ace to start the second set. It was the second ace of the match for her and the second of her collegiate career.
Five different Trojans served up an ace over the weekend.
Anna Hurlburt was strong at the net in the third set with two block assists. That came in the middle of a 4-0 run that pulled the Trojans within one point.
Northwestern State was led by Hannah Brister (16 kills) and Reagan Lee (.636 pct.)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Little Rock Director of Track & Field/Cross Country J.P. Behnke set out to bring in a strong recruiting class. That new talent was on display at the season-opening Memphis Twiglight Classic with underclassmen posting top three men’s finishes and two fo the top three women’s finishes.
In all, the Trojan men finished seventh with all five scorers posting top-50 marks while the women placed ninth.
Sophomore Carter Reynolds paced the men with an 18th place finish, running the four-mile race in 21:07.45, while freshman Colby Swecker’s time of 21:24.22 placed him 25th. Sophomore Ricardo Banks ran 21:36.02 to finish 35th as three underclassmen led the Trojan men.
Junior Jarred O’Conner posted a time of 21:54.24 to finish 43rd while senior Emilio Medina ran 22:07.88 to round out the scoring five for Little Rock and bringing an upperclassmen presence to the top five.
On the women’s side, junior Vianney Sanchez posted a 5k time of 19:48.14 to place 52nd and lead the women before two freshmen made their mark. Rookie Ariana Garcia ran 19:57.55 to finish 58th and she was closely followed by Jordan Edwards’ time of 19:57.79 for a 59th place finish.
Senior Hunter Paul finished 72nd with a time of 20:29.79 and freshman Amanda Gordon rounded out the scoring five with a mark of 21:29.79, placing 88th.
Little Rock will head up the road to Conway for the UCA Cross Country Challenge on Saturday, Sept. 7.
