OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 24, 2019) – The scoreline – a 4-1 loss to No. 16-ranked St. Mary's (Texas) on a wet, frigid Thursday night at the Eagle Soccer Field – doesn't necessarily indicate just how competitive Oklahoma Christian was against one of the top teams in NCAA Division II.
OC had one shot bang off the crossbar, another off the left post and had a third cleared off the goal line by an alert St. Mary's defender, allowing the Rattlers to win their seventh straight game. With 15 standings points, St. Mary's (10-2-1, 5-1 Lone Star Conference) is tied atop the league with Midwestern State (Texas) and will visit there on Saturday.
OC (4-7, 1-4) is tied for eighth with three standings points but is only two points out of sixth place. The top six teams at the end of the regular season will qualify for the LSC tournament.
Thursday's game was played in some of the most adverse conditions for an OC home game in recent years – 42 degrees with light-to-heavy rain falling intermittently throughout the match, with a north wind gusting to 20 mph that resulted in a wind chill of 37 degrees.
St. Mary's took the wind in the first half and that decision paid off, as the Rattlers jumped to a 3-1 lead by intermission. They broke through in the 31st minute as Carlos Blasco recorded the first of his three assists, feeding Ollie Wright for a shot from about 15 yards out.
OC – which outshot the Rattlers 16-15 – quickly answered in the 33rd minute. From the right side,
Ian Arendse played a ball into
Vinicius Alves in the penalty box and Alves beat St. Mary's goalkeeper Jacob Sayle to tie the game. It was Alves' second goal of the season.
Nenad Markovic put the Rattlers back ahead in the 38th minute, collecting a deflection off an OC player and creating a two-on-one situation that led to an open shot from the edge of the penalty box. Martin Ibarreche made it 3-1 in the final minute of the half on a goal also assisted by Blasco.
With the wind in the second half, the Eagles were more assertive offensively but had bad luck.
Carlos Trapero's strong shot from about 20 yards caromed off the left post in the 57th minute and in the 80th minute, a shot by
Bjarne Deraeve deflected off the crossbar.
Edu Toiny-Pendred sealed the win for St. Mary's with a goal in the 81st minute. OC kept pushing and almost was rewarded in the 85th minute as
Jaiden van der Heijden's shot seemed destined for the goal before Alan Barr swept in to clear it off the line.
Trabichet finished with six saves for OC, while Sayle had one for St. Mary's.
OC will host league rival Texas A&M International on Saturday, with the kickoff tentatively scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
