On Saturday, April 17th, the #2 ranked team in the country and #1 seed in the tourney, the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles would once again travel to Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, KS. This time to take on the #2 seeded Bulldogs of McPherson College in the KCAC tournament final. The previous matchup between the two teams saw the Eagles win by a score of 5-0. In this final, would we see another shutout from the Eagles' stellar defense or would McPherson be able pull off the upset and take down the #2 ranked team in the country.
In the first half the Eagles offense would show why they are #2 in the country. The Eagles would find net twice in the first half. These goals would could from:
Luka Lukic (9:00) and
Matheus Ferreira assisted by Edgar Rossi Osuna (28:13) . The Eagles would end the half with a 2-0 lead. Thanks to OKWU's defense, keeper
Alex Vidizzoni would not see a shot come his way the entire half. The Eagles would outshoot the Bulldogs at the half, 11-1 (SOG 8-0).
Coming out of halftime, we would see more play like in the first half. The Eagles defense would keep the Bulldogs scoreless, while the Eagles offense would tack on one more goal for good measure. This goal would come from
Pol Mur Llorens (60:40). Despite the Bulldogs being down by 3 goals, they would try to get back in the match as unlike the 1st half they would be able to put 3 shots on goal. However, these shots would be all stopped by Vidizzoni.
Overall the Eagles would play phenomenal in all aspects of the match. The Eagles would outshoot the Bulldogs, 19-7 (SOG 13-3). The Eagles would also record more corner kick opportunities than the Bulldogs, 6-4. When it came to the keepers Vidizzoni would stop all 3 shots on goal, whereas McPherson's pair of keepers combined would allow 3 goals and record 10 saves.
The Eagles being newly crowned KCAC tournament champs, will now wait to see who will be joining them in the Bartlesville bracket as they will play host to the NAIA Opening Round April 22nd-24th. The Eagles will find this out during the NAIA Men's Soccer Selection Show Monday, April 19th at 12:00pm.
