SHAWNEE, Okla. ? John Brown (Ark.) knocked Oklahoma City University out of the NAIA Region VI women?s soccer tournament with a 1-0 victory on Tuesday at Oklahoma Baptist.
John Brown?s Abby Leonard scored off a corner kick from Amber Aparicio with 1:24 left in the game. The Stars ended their season 17-3-1 and ranked 21st in NAIA.
The teams battled a 10-20 mph wind from the west. The Stars had the wind to their backs in the second half. Shots were even between the two teams at 11. OCU took 10 shots in the second half.
?Wind made a difference for both teams, but they adapted better, especially in the second half,? OCU coach Brian Harvey said. ?We defended well in the first half. With that type of wind advantage, you got to give it a go.?
OCU?s Jennifer Crawford took a shot with 25 minutes left where she bounced the ball off the top of her head, then turned to kick towards the goal. JBU?s Natalie Wall saved the chance.
The Stars won the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament and finished second in the conference during the regular season. OCU was ranked during most of the season.
Crawford, the team?s leading scorer with seven goals, was a sophomore. Erika Garbrecht was named SAC defensive most valuable player, and Zoe Barratt was newcomer of the year. Barratt and Garbrecht were freshmen. Other contributors who will be back include Christin Baker, Jessica Caudle, Erin Heath, Lateesha Hunter, Haley McIntosh, Kara Nimz, Laurie Suter and Whitney Ward.
?It was a wonderful season especially with a lot of freshmen,? Harvey said. ?It augers well. We got hit by injuries. We?re young. Hopefully we?ll bounce back and have a better year.?
This year?s seniors were Megan Griffin, Katie Meek, Ashley Mise, Lacey Neuman and Amanda Rivera. Griffin and Rivera were all-conference at goalkeeper and midfielder, respectively.
?I want to thank the seniors,? Harvey said. ?They did a wonderful job. I wish them well in the future.?