BETHANY, Okla. — Not only did the Southern Nazarene Men's Soccer team celebrate their seniors in Thursday night's match against Rogers State, they also celebrated a stunning one goal defeat against the current leaders of the Great American Conference standings.
After clinching a spot in the GAC Tournament, Trevor Harmon's squad was not finished yet. In a gruesome battle against heavy winds and a tough Rogers State (10-4-2, 6-3-1 GAC) team, the Storm (10-6, 7-3 GAC) took care of the Hillcats early and managed to reclaim their first place spot in the GAC standings as they defeated the previous front runners 1-0 in Bethany.
The weather conditions out at Wes Harmon Field definitely made it difficult for both teams to kickstart any offense that match as SNU and RSU only had three shots on target that evening. Yet, one of those on target shots for SNU was just enough to secure them the victory.
That single goal by SNU was scored as early as the third minute as Alvaro Sanchez dished Esteban Ramirez a miraculous pass as he shot down the field to punch one in right past the Hillcats goalie. This put the Storm up 1-0 with 42 remaining in that half.
The rest of the match was ridden with fouls, yellow cards, and a fight by Rogers State to get onto the scoreboard. The Storm held them off until the final buzzer sounded leaving them victorious on a celebratory and windy evening in Bethany.
Ramirez gave SNU the clutch play early in the match with his one goal that night. Sanchez grabbed his single assist that match as he found Ramirez down the field for SNU's fiery start.
Orlando Castro added to the energy with his four shots and two shots on goal while Ramiro Diez defended the goal with his three saves.
The Storm have a week off before their next match against Newman on November 4th at 7 p.m. SNU defeated the Jets 4-0 back on October 7th and look to repeat the memory this time in Wichita, Kansas for another conference road game.
