OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 25 Oklahoma City University eased past John Brown (Ark.) 2-0 in the opening round of the Sooner Athletic Conference men's tournament Friday afternoon at Stars Field.

With the win, the Stars snapped a two-match winless streak and advanced to play at Southern Nazarene in the semifinals of the SAC tournament at 7 p.m. Monday.

“In the second half we created a lot of good chances,” OCU coach Brian Harvey said. “I feel today's match will help the team with their confidence.”

After a scoreless first half, the Stars gained momentum with a goal from Peiman Pahlevan in the 53rd minute to make the score 1-0. Pahlevan benefited from a nice touch pass from Preston Cox, who picked up the assist.

The Stars put the game away in the 77th minute with a goal from Alex Gang for a 2-0 lead. Gang outran his defender to the ball and had an easy finish for his team-leading 19th goal on the year.

OCU finished with a 14-13 shots advantage, while take eight corner kicks to only one by John Brown.

The Stars will play at Southern Nazarene for the second time in a week's span on Monday. SNU defeated OCU 2-1 in overtime on Tuesday night with two late goals.

“We were winning with seven minutes left and let a late goal in,” said Harvey about the last matchup with SNU. “We need to manage the game better this time.”
Boxscore

Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament
MEN
Friday's Matches
First Round
Oklahoma City 2, John Brown 0
Rogers State 1, Oklahoma Christian 0
Monday, Nov. 9
Semifinals
Rogers State at USAO, 2 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Southern Nazarene, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 12
Championship
At highest remaining seed