OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University advanced to the Sooner Athletic Conference men's soccer tournament semifinals with a 3-1 victory over Rogers State on Friday afternoon at Stars Field.

The Stars (10-5-2) head to Chickasha, Okla., for a 2 p.m. semifinal match against USAO on Monday. OCU avenged a 1-0 regular-season loss to the Hillcats with an aggressive performance that pleased Stars coach Brian Harvey.

“I was very pleased with the win and the way we played, especially in the first half, Harvey said. “I thought we really got after them.”

OCU struck early in the match. Ryan Hunter stole the ball from the Hillcat defense in the opening seconds. Hunter, a sophomore from Tulsa, Okla., broke away from the defender at midfield and raced to the unassisted score in the 55th second of play.

Chris Spendlove, a senior from Liverpool, England, hit the target for OCU in the 33rd minute, scoring his team-leading seventh goal of the season. John Dill, a senior from Broken Arrow, served up the corner kick to Spendlove to get credit for the assist.    

Francis Malalou, a junior from Gabon, Africa, scored the Stars' final goal of the contest in the 76th minute, when Rogers State was playing a man down. Kyle Davies, a freshman from Durban, South Africa, crossed the ball to Malalou for the header and subsequent goal.

OCU will face USAO on for the opportunity to advance to the final game of the conference tournament. In their regular-season meeting, the Stars posted a 2-1 win USAO, who is currently ranked 21st in the NAIA.

“When we played USAO during the season, it was very evenly matched,” Harvey said. “It's always a difficult place to go and play, but we've just got to overcome it like we did last time, just go without any fear, and just go and play.”

Boxscore

Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament

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Friday's Results

Quarterfinals

Oklahoma Baptist 2, St. Gregory's 1

Oklahoma City 3, Rogers State 1

USAO 5, Oklahoma Christian 1