CANYON, Texas (Sept. 29, 2021) – For more than 80 minutes on Wednesday night, Oklahoma Christian had arguably the best men's soccer team in NCAA Division II frustrated and on the ropes.

But West Texas A&M isn't ranked No. 3 nationally for no reason. The Buffaloes scored an equalizing goal in the 81st minute, then took advantage of a scramble situation less than two minutes into overtime to score again and escape The Pitch with a 2-1 win over an unheralded – but quite dangerous – OC squad.

It was only the second time this season any opponent took West Texas A&M (7-0) into overtime. Thanks to an early goal from Joep Claassen and eight saves by goalkeeper Anthony Trabichet, OC (1-3-2) made sure the Buffaloes had to work hard for the win in one of the Lone Star Conference's mandated nonconference games between league opponents.

West Texas A&M outshot OC 23-5, but it was a nifty 25-yard strike by Claassen that put the Eagles ahead in the sixth minute. West Texas A&M defender Bryan Martinez made a slide tackle on OC's Bjarne Deraeve as Deraeve entered the penalty box, but the ball went directly to Claassen, who beat West Texas A&M goalkeeper Tom Miles with a shot into the high center of the goal.

The Buffaloes kept peppering the OC goal, but Trabichet and the defensive line held firm until the 81st minute, when the Eagles weren't able to clear a loose ball. Stefan Andjelic collected the ball just inside the penalty box and sent a low shot that Trabichet couldn't get to in time, tying the game 1-1.

Both teams had good scoring chances in the final minutes of regulation. Miles, who had two saves, stopped a drive by OC's Carlos Trapero at the edge of the penalty box in a one-on-one situation in the 84th minute, and in the 85th minute, Trabichet went low to stop a shot by Keaton Hartman.

West Texas A&M was awarded a free kick in the 92nd minute. The ball was played into the penalty box and Trabichet came off his line to try and corral it, but wasn't able to do so. Chris Palomino instead controlled the ball for the Buffaloes and sent it to teammate Sean Ryan, who had a tap-in from inside the 6-yard box for the win. Trabichet appealed for an offside call on West Texas A&M on the play, to no avail.

OC's final LSC-mandated nonconference game will be at home on Saturday at 7 p.m. against No. 12-ranked Midwestern State (Texas). The Eagles recorded their first-ever win over Midwestern State during the spring 2021 season.