Micah Herrmann Archives

John Brown picked fourth by league coaches

August 7, 2019

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.

John Brown opens with a win

August 19, 2019

By JOHN BROWN SPORTS INFORMATION

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.

John Brown handles Lyon

August 23, 2019

By JOHN BROWN SPORTS INFORMATION

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.