WICHITA, Kan. (Sept. 15, 2012) – The final seven minutes of Oklahoma Christian's game at Newman on Saturday night had enough drama to last a season – so much that OC coach David Scott didn't know quite what to think.
"I'm not sure I can form a coherent thought," he said a few minutes after Tommy Guernsey's late goal lifted the Eagles to a 2-1 win over Newman at Wilkins Field in OC's first Heartland Conference game.
Guernsey's winning header in the 88th minute came after Newman's Marcio Souza tied the score in the 84th minute – and about 90 seconds after Souza missed on a wide-open shot from six yards out that would have given Newman (0-4) the lead after the Jets had trailed for much of the game.
The win was the first over an NCAA Division II foe since OC (2-2) began the Division II membership process, as well as being the Eagles' first Heartland Conference win – although because OC is still in the membership process, its games won't count this season in the conference standings.
The historic win came over a foe against which OC once marked a major program milestone. The first game in OC men's soccer history was a 7-1 loss at Newman in 1986.
"Credit to the guys for digging in there and fighting," Scott said. "We were wearing down there at the end and they stuck together. They had us under pressure for a long period in the second half, but we responded and got the result. It was a huge effort from everyone.
"We told this guys this is what Division II is going to be like. It's going to be a fight every night. I'm just happy for these guys to get this result and to be able to say this is the first group to get a Division II win in OC history. I feel like the future is very bright for our program."
Sam Guernsey put OC ahead in the 18th minute, stealing the ball from a Newman defender and scoring on a shot from just outside the penalty area. He did a cartwheel while returning to his position after scoring.
For a long time, it looked like Sam Guernsey's goal would hold up, especially after Newman's Matt McConnell fired high from about 15 yards out in the 56th minute. But in the waning minutes, Nicos Esquivel corralled a loose ball in the penalty area and sent a quick touch pass to Souza, who scored from 10 yards out, setting off a raucous celebration by the Jets at the corner of the field nearest their bench.
In the 86th minute, Souza found himself one-on-one with OC goalkeeper Tim Spencer but fired well wide from less than 10 yards in front of the goal.
OC worked the ball downfield and earned a corner kick. Cole Rinke tapped a short kick to Ricardo Chinchilla, who lofted the ball into the penalty area. Tommy Guernsey headed it past Newman goalkeeper Robin Allard for the game-winner.
The Jets, who outshot OC 16-11, managed only one more shot after Tommy Guernsey's goal.
"In the past, there have been times that we'd give up those goals (to opponents), and we wouldn't respond to the adversity, but this group held together," Scott said. "It was a huge goal from Tommy.
"We know we don't have a lot of height in the middle to win too many balls served straight in, so we try to take advantage of getting the ball short and attacking off that if we can. … Fortunately Tommy is one of the guys who can jump on this team and he got up and found that ball."
