Matej Urbanija Archives

August 19, 2019

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.

Marcelo Mendes, Matej Urbanija, and Dalton Georgopulos joined Zamarron, Carballo and Zavala in making their respective collegiate debuts in the Blue and Gold.

John Brown returns to action on Friday (Aug. 23) in its home opener as the Golden Eagles welcome Lyon College to Alumni Field for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

August 30, 2019

By JOHN BROWN SPORTS INFORMATION

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).