ARKADELPHIA – Ouachita Baptist became the third Great American Conference school to win back-to-back Women’s Soccer Championship titles as the Tigers bested Oklahoma Baptist 4-3 in penalty kicks on Sunday from Kluck Field following a 0-0 contest.

Ouachita (8-7-4) equaled the feat set by Southwestern Oklahoma State, in 2012-13, and Harding, in 2015-16, by successfully defending the title. Madi Vana, Abbey Moore, McKenna Wright and Ava Dunagan converted their penalty kicks and Carina Chavarria – subbed into the game at the the beginning of the penalty kick phase – made two saves to secure the program’s fourth GAC Championship title. Sunday’s title represented the first instance in which they clinched on home soil. All three of their prior victories – 2014, Spring 2021 and 2023 – came on the road against that year’s top seed.

Oklahoma Baptist (6-6-7) recorded nine shots, five on target in the opening 45 minutes and limited the Tigers to just four shots, one on goal. In the second half, Ouachita registered four shots on goal as compared to three from Oklahoma Baptist.

The two starting goalkeepers – Claire Stoermer for Oklahoma Baptist and Taylor Hapgood for Ouachita Baptist – combined for 17 saves as the two teams played in just the second 0-0 final in league history. East Central and Ouachita Baptist played to a 0-0 draw in 2011.

The Tigers’ Teagan Jaussi received the Tournament MVP honor. She scored the winning goal in Friday’s semifinal against Southern Nazarene. Vana, Moore, Allison Reece and Sophia Valencia made added All-Tournament honors. Stoermer, Chloe Monroe and Sam Sheffield represented the Bison on the team.

Harding’s Carmen Gunn and Georgia Templeton plus Southern Nazarene’s Adison Johnson and Natalie Montanez filled out the 12-member All-Tournament Team.

The Tigers secured the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championships. They’ll learn their opponent at 6:00 p.m. Monday during the NCAA Selection Show. They’ll make their third appearance in the NCAA Tournament having previously qualified in 2007 and last year.

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RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – On Monday, the Great American Conference announced second-semester start dates for basketball, volleyball, and women’s soccer.

The league’s basketball season will feature a 20-game divisional schedule with an opening night slated for Thursday, January 7 with six doubleheaders – Arkansas Tech at Arkansas-Monticello, Southwestern Oklahoma State at East Central, Ouachita at Harding, Southern Arkansas at Henderson State, Southern Nazarene at Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southeastern Oklahoma State at Oklahoma Baptist.

Volleyball features a 10-week, 10-match divisional schedule that opens on Tuesday January 26 and runs through Tuesday March 30. In the opening slate, UAM visits Harding, Ouachita hosts Arkansas Tech, East Central faces Northwestern Oklahoma State Southern Arkansas travels to Henderson State, defending champion Oklahoma Baptist welcomes in Southeastern Oklahoma State and SWOSU ventures to Southern Nazarene.

Women’s soccer gets underway on Saturday, February 20 with three league contests – Southern Nazarene at Ouachita, Oklahoma Baptist at Harding and East Central at Northwestern Oklahoma State. Defending champion Southwestern Oklahoma State hits the field for the first time one week later.

“I can’t say enough about the work done by our presidents and administrators to place the GAC in a position to safely resume competition,” GAC Commissioner Will Prewitt said. There’s a lot of work to be done, and we are keeping our fingers crossed regarding public health conditions across Arkansas and Oklahoma, but we are hopeful to see the lights go back on for games on January 7.”

The conference office also released a fall 2021 football schedule that kicks off a full 11-game round-robin on Thursday, September 2.

Southwestern Oklahoma State hosts the GAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday, February 27. Formats and dates for the men’s soccer regular season as well as the championships for basketball, volleyball, and soccer will be determined at a later date.

Members will play spring sports schedules as previously approved by the conference’s Council of Athletic Administrators and Council of Presidents.

The GAC will continue to evaluate NCAA, federal, state, and local developments and provide updated revisions as further information becomes available.

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CONWAY – Jesus Lemus (FR/Ensenada, Mexico) made history this afternoon in Central Baptist College’s American Midwest Conference men’s soccer game against UHSP. Lemus scored a hat trick, which accounted for three of CBC’s (3-4-1, 1-2 AMC) five goals in their 5-0 win over UHSP (2-4, 0-3 AMC).

Lemus’ hat trick was the fourth in program history and the first since 2013. His first goal came two minutes into the contest on an assist from Alex Mendoza and Chris Orellana (SO/Fort Smith, Ark.) to make the game 1-0. Lemus would add his second goal on a penalty kick in the 21st minute to make it 2-0, which would be the score headed to halftime.

Ryan Lee (SO/North Little Rock, Ark.) would score a goal to make it 3-0 on assists from Beltran and Lemus in the 46th minute. Dan Mondragon (FR/Warren, Ark.) made it 4-0 on an assist from Ade Oshikoya (SR/London, England) in the 76th minute and Lemus finished his hat trick with his second penalty kick conversion in the 80th minute, making it 5-0. Andrew Montoya (JR/Rogers, Ark.) had a quiet day in net, making three saves, but also helping a defense that did not allow a shot in the second half.

Next up for the Mustangs is a trip to Columbia College on Saturday for an AMC tilt. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. and you can find live coverage if you like Central Baptist College Athletics on Facebook and follow @gocbcmustangs on Twitter and Instagram.

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LAFAYETTE, La. – Sarah Sodoma made history as she scored the lone goal to lead the Arkansas State women’s soccer team to a 1-0 win over Louisiana Thursday night at Cajun Field.

The 3-0 start by A-State is the best start to a season since the 2017 campaign. Following the match, the Ragin’ Cajuns fell to 2-3 on the year.

In the 27th minute, Sodoma collected an assist from Hailey Cloud and Hannah Maupin, then turned and took a powerful shot to find the back of the net. The score marked the 24th goal of Sodoma’s career, which places her No. 1 in career goals scored.

Manchester, Mo., native Sodoma, lead the Red Wolves offensive effort by taking four shots on the night as she placed two on target. Maupin registered two shots on the match while Hailey Furio, Olivia Smith, and Haley Husted each took one.

A-State outshot the Ragin’ Cajuns 9-2 as four shots landed on target for the Red Wolves. The squad took nine corners in the match.

Megan McClure earned her second shutout on the year.

Arkansas State will return to action Sunday, Sept. 27, when it returns home to host Texas State. The match is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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SEARCY – Senior midfielder Christian Ramos became the first Harding men’s soccer player in program history to receive All-America honors Wednesday. Ramos landed on the 2019 Division II Conference Commissioners Association Men’s Soccer All-America First Team.

Ramos, a management major from Denton, Texas, scored a career-high 17 goals, including four game-winning goals, in 17 games. He was a perfect 7 of 7 from the penalty spot and scored 10 goals in the run of play. Ramos concluded his career with 34 goals and nine assists.

Ramos earned All-Great American Conference honors all four years at Harding, was the 2018 GAC Player of the Year, and received three All-Central Region honors.

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OKLAHOMA CITY – John Brown will be the top seed as the Sooner Athletic Conference men’s soccer tournament will get under way Friday, Nov. 8 with quarterfinal matches on campus sites throughout the league.

No. 1 seed John Brown took its first SAC men’s soccer regular-season championship this year. The Golden Eagles (14-3) face Southwestern Assemblies of God in a 4 p.m. contest Nov. 8 at Alumni Field in Siloam Springs, Ark.

John Brown outscored league foes 34-5 this season. The Golden Eagles won their first eight SAC matches in 2019. Jacob Zamarron, a freshman from Rogers, Ark., delivered conference bests with 21 goals and 51 points while dishing out nine assists for John Brown this year.

Mid-America Christian (14-2-1) secured the No. 2 seed. The Evangels dealt John Brown its first loss in league play 3-1 on Tuesday in Siloam Springs, Ark. Mid-America Christian reached No. 19 in the NAIA ratings this season.

The Evangels collected their first SAC Tournament crown Nov. 9, 2018 over Science & Arts of Oklahoma. Mid-America won on penalty kicks 5-4 after finishing tied at 1-1 after two overtimes in Chickasha, Okla.

The SAC Tournament champion secures a berth in the NAIA Championships. The NAIA Championship Opening Round will be Nov. 22-23 on campus sites around the country, then the NAIA Championships take place Dec. 2-7 in Irvine, Calif.

Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament
MEN
At campus sites
Friday, Nov. 8
Quarterfinals
No. 7 Texas Wesleyan (4-14) at No. 2 Mid-America Christian (14-2-1), 2 p.m.
No. 8 SW Assemblies of God (3-13-1) at No. 1 John Brown (14-3), 4 p.m.
No. 5 Southwestern Christian (9-8) at No. 4 Wayland Baptist (9-3-3), 4 p.m.
No. 6 Panhandle State (8-5-2) at No. 3 USAO (11-5-1), 7 p.m.

At highest remaining seed
Monday, Nov. 11
Semifinals
SCU-WBU winner vs. JBU-SAGU winner
OPSU-USAO winner vs. MACU-TXWES winner

Thursday, Nov. 14
Championship
Semifinal winners

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WALNUT RIDGE – Williams Baptist University men’s soccer team over the Spartans of Missouri Baptist University on Tuesday evening.

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CONWAY – Marcela Bueno (JR/Sao Paulo, Brazil) scored three goals this afternoon to carry Central Baptist College in their American Midwest Conference women’s soccer game against Williams Baptist. Bueno scored twice in the first half and once in the second half and CBC (3-10, 3-8 AMC) also got a first half goal from Alyssa Carmack (FR/Bethany, Okla.) and beat WBU (2-13-1, 1-10 AMC) 4-2.

Carmack’s goal opened the scoring in the 12th minute, when she looped a shot from outside the 18-yard box over the Eagle keeper’s head to put CBC ahead 1-0. Williams Baptist would answer in the 14th minute and the score would remain tied until Bueno scored her first goal in the 42nd minute and added another goal one minute later to make it 3-1, which was CBC’s lead at the half. Bueno’s goal to finish the hat trick came in the 80th minute off a corner kick, which was whipped in by Ashley Hultquist (FR/Lafayette, La.), and headed into Bueno’s path by Adrianna Evans (FR/Paris, Texas), who earned her third assist of the season. WBU would score in the 86th minute to bring the score to where it would end at 4-2.

Sara Calzada (SO/Arlington, Texas) made three saves in net. The Mustangs outshot the Eagles 15-8 overall and 9-5 in shots on goal.

The final game against an AMC opponent this season is on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. against Harris-Stowe State. That will also be Senior Day, when the Mustangs will honor Michaela Wann (SR/Vilonia, Ark.) and Kady Johnson(JR/Greenbrier, Ark.) after the women’s contest.

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WALNUT RIDGE – Rhaegan Linn scored a first half hat-trick, and three other Lady Eagles found the scoresheet as the Williams Baptist University women’s soccer team won 6-0 over St. Louis College of Pharmacy on Saturday afternoon. The American Midwest Conference match was played in Walnut Ridge, Ark.

Linn only needed a little over eight minutes to score two goals. The sophomore used her pace twice to get by the Eutectic defense before finding the back of the net. Fifteen minutes later, Linn completed her hat-trick after Maria Lopes played a through ball to set her in on-goal. It was her first career hat trick, and only took 23:26 to complete.

Danielle Barstead scored the fourth goal for the Lady Eagles in the 35th minute. It was the freshman’s second goal in the last three games and her third overall. Kaitlyn Long scored the team’s fifth goal with 30 seconds remaining in the half. The goal came after Alejandra Parga-Espinoza played her in. This gave the Lady Eagles a commanding 5-0 advantage at halftime.

Jahaira Bonilla scored the only goal of the second half on an assist by Brooklynn Stoner.

The Lady Eagles dominated possession for much of the match, limiting the Eutectics to just one shot for the game. Meanwhile, WBU finished with 26, placing 19 on-frame.

The win was the first of the season for the team and snaps a twelve game losing streak.

Next up, WBU hosts Ecclesia College on Monday, Oct. 22 at 12 p.m.

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MARSHALL, Mo. — The No. 24 John Brown University women’s soccer team used a goal in each half and a strong performance in goal to open the 2018 campaign with a 2-0 win over Missouri Valley on Saturday (Aug. 18) night at Gregg-Mitchell Field.

Behind sophomore Caitlyn Logan’s second-career clean sheet and senior Jastin Redman’s three-point night, the Golden Eagles (1-0-0) improved to 11-5-1 in season openers.

Despite being out-shot 8-7 in the contest, JBU held in check Missouri Valley’s leading scorer from last season, Julia Mejias, who attempted four shots, but only one finding goal, which Logan handled.

With MVC (0-1-0) applying early pressure, the Golden Eagles jumped to a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute when sophomore Emily Jordan’s corner kick landed in the box, right at the foot of Redman, who one-touched a shot just inside the far right post from six yards out.

Redman’s 47th career goal handed the upstart visitors the lead, and for good. It was Redman’s 13th career game-winner.

Fighting through a half in which the hosts held a 5-2 shooting advantage at the intermission, John Brown again responded early in the second half to double its lead.

Just 10 minutes into the second half, senior Aspen Carpenter netted her first of the season, from Redman, when she ripped an attempt from the top of the 18 that found the upper right corner, beating MVC keeper Summer Budaj, adding an insurance marker for the visitors.

Although armed with a 2-0 advantage, the Golden Eagles countered the Viking first-half effort by out-shooting the hosts 5-3 in the second half. The stellar JBU defense held MVC to just two shot attempts over the final 25 minutes of play.

Logan matched her single-game career high with five saves, earning the full-match victory in goal.

Freshmen Alair Love and Vanessa Reynoso each made their collegiate debuts for John Brown.

JBU will now travel to Columbia, Mo. this evening and rest tomorrow before taking on No. 10 Columbia at R. Marvin Owens Stadium on Monday (Aug. 20) at 5 p.m.

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