OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City University men met their match in the final regular season game for the Stars, a 3-1 contest favoring 15th-ranked Oklahoma Baptist on Tuesday at Stars Field.

OCU (9-5-2, 5-3-2) will now rely on post-season conference tournament seedings to see where the Stars stand. It appears that OCU will land in the third or fourth slot in the Sooner Athletic Conference, and host an opening round match on Friday. 
The Stars' likely opponents are either Southern Nazarene or Rogers State in the first round of the eight-team conference tournament.

OCU's lone goal came off the foot of Drew Hall in the 89th minute of play, just seconds before regulation expired. Hall, a freshman from Edmond, Okla., was assisted on the play by Stewart Hilton, a senior from Liverpool, England.

Francis Malalou, a junior from Gabon, Africa, and Hall both took three shots apiece for the Stars, and OCU held a 12-11 shot advantage in the match.

Oklahoma Baptist's offensive firepower was no match for the Stars' defense, with the Bison striking for goals in the 34th, 46th and 58th minute of the night.

“I thought we had a good account of ourselves, but our defending was poor,” coach Brian Harvey said. “At key moments of the game we lost concentration, and it's just not quite good enough.”

OCU was playing without one of their on-field leaders John Dill. Dill, a senior from Broken Arrow, Okla., was absent from the match due to five yellow cards this season, but Harvey knows his services will be needed in the post-season for the Stars to advance.

“We're going to have to show some character,” Harvey said. “we'll get John Dill back. He's a key member of the squad and we need him, and we need his experience. There's no parachute for the men. We must win the conference tournament to advance to nationals.”

More details on the finalized SAC tournament schedule and parings will be released as they become available.

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