Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY (Sept. 19, 2015) – The odds certainly appeared stacked against Oklahoma Christian on Saturday afternoon, as an OC squad thin on healthy bodies and depth faced Northeastern State, one of the top men's soccer programs in NCAA Division II.
On top of that, a red card issued at halftime meant OC would have to play the second half a man down against the powerful RiverHawks. But in what has to be considered one of the biggest wins in coach
David Scott's 10-season tenure, the Eagles held on for a 1-0 win at the Eagle Soccer Field.
Ante Susic converted a penalty kick in the 42nd minute and OC (3-2) made it stand up in a wild game that included six yellow cards – including one each against Scott and his NSU counterpart, Rob Czlonka – and the red card. OC goalkeeper
Evan Helker posted one of his finest performances, recording nine saves and continually keeping Northeastern (3-3) at bay.
"We were thinking … as soon as the game ended that this is probably one of the toughest teams we've played," Scott said. "It's great to get a result like this. We basically played 12 guys on the field and it's just great for them to get this result and overcome some of the issues we've had the last few weeks.
"We've had a tough go of it the last few games with injuries and results. It's big for us to get a win today and get some confidence going forward."
OC and Northeastern, rivals during the early days of Oklahoma small-college soccer in the 1980s and 1990s, resumed their series in 2013 after a 15-year hiatus as OC moved into the Division II ranks.
Northeastern has enjoyed much success in Division II in recent years, reaching the Division II tournament in 2012 and 2014 and winning the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular-season and postseason titles last season while going 16-3-2. The RiverHawks returned nine starters from that squad and were 30th in the voting in this week's Division II coaches' poll.
The RiverHawks tried to physically dominate OC from the start, but the Eagles' defense held steady and the offense eventually produced scoring chances. In the 42nd minute, Northeastern's Hayden Rasmussen fouled
Clay Collier in the penalty box, resulting in a penalty kick for OC. Susic beat Northeastern goalkeeper Eric Shephard to put the Eagles ahead.
After the halftime horn, the teams retreated to their benches, where OC defender
Austin Ford, who had received an earlier yellow card, received a red card for dissent and was ejected. Because Ford was on the field for the Eagles at the end of the first half, OC lost his lineup spot for the second half.
Scott used a rotation of 12 players after halftime, trying to keep his team as fresh as possible as the Eagles stretched their defense. Northeastern outshot the Eagles 12-1 after halftime, but Helker proved up to the challenge, squashing the RiverHawks' best scoring chances.
"The incident at halftime was probably the one time in the 90 minutes that we lost our focus," Scott said. "The rest of the time, we played great. We kept our composure for the most part and kept everyone organized and really limited the number of quality chances that they had.
"Evan … played big for us today. He dealt with a lot of dangerous balls they played into the box and made a few big saves. Late in the game, he did a good job distribution-wise to kill some clock."
For the game, Northeastern had a 21-7 edge in shots. Shephard made two saves for the RiverHawks.
OC will return to action on Monday, when the Eagles host Oklahoma Baptist at 7 p.m. It will be the first OC-OBU men's soccer match since 2011, when both universities were members of the NAIA and the Sooner Athletic Conference.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma4e4ivElJ8&feature=youtu.be
