Eagles break losing streak; Women win two of three

A 23-9 shot advantage favoring the Oklahoma Christian University men’s soccer team proved not enough to break even in a 0-0 draw with St. Mary’s University Thursday.

Despite ending their five-game losing streak and giving them their first points in the league race, the Eagles missed their chances to score St. Mary’s.

Oklahoma Christian’s goalkeeper, senior Evan Helker, made five total saves and recorded his 10th career shutout. Senior Cody Cook had multiple opportunities to score, and in the 25th minute, Jack Moore, the Rattlers’ goalkeeper, deflected a shot sure to go in. Cook shot three times within the final nine minutes of regulation, but his attempts were either blocked or shot wide.

The Eagles followed with a 1-0 victory over Texas A&M International University on Saturday.

During Saturday’s game, Texas A&M International held control for most of the match, but after an early goal by freshman Jackson Bojanowski, the Eagles held on to the lead, allowing Oklahoma Christian to pick up its first win of the season, second straight shutout and ending a six-game winless streak.

The only goal of the game came in the 16th minute when Cook lofted a free kick into the penalty area and Bojanowski headed the ball in past the Dustdevils’ goalkeeper for his first collegiate goal.

Following the goal, the Eagles saw very few offensive opportunities as the Dustdevils posted a 17-5 shot advantage.

Helker made five saves to keep Oklahoma Christian in the lead.

“We’ve had a couple of disappointing results this week,” Helker said. “Despite that, we are going to continue growing and improving. It’s a long season.”

The Eagles’ defense played tight against the Dustdevils’ offense during the final 11 minutes of the game, stopping Texas A&M International’s attempt to make a shot.

For the Lady Eagles soccer team, the week started with a 3-2 win against Northwestern Oklahoma State University, followed by a 3-0 victory over Roger’s State University and finally ending with a 0-0 draw against Newman University.

Despite falling behind early, the Lady Eagles scored three times in an 11-minute period and held onto that lead to take the victory over Northwestern.

Freshman Dakota Milner was the offensive standout for Oklahoma Christian, scoring her first two collegiate goals.

Milner evened the game in the sixth minute on a cross from the right side, five yards out after an early score by the Rangers. In the ninth minute, sophomore Rubi Villegas Aguilar chipped the ball over the Ranger’s goalkeeper to take a 2-1 lead.

In the 17th minute, junior Michell Fuentes shot a ball that was blocked but Milner chipped it in from 12 yards out.

Northwestern pulled it back to 3-2 in 76th minute but with sophomore Carina Schanz’s three saves, the Lady Eagles gained victory.

Against the Roger’s State Fuentes, sophomore Villegas Aguilar and freshman Kylee Ingalls both scored in the 3-0 victory.

Oklahoma Christian held Roger’s State to only seven shots allowing them to acquire its second shutout of the season.

Both the Lady Eagles and Hillcats held each other to zero shots in the first 16 minutes. A header by Fuentes off of sophomore Lauren Parker’s corner kick was the first goal in the 17th minute of play.

In the 38th minute, Aguilar drove 40 yards down the field, juked a defender and shot the ball in from eight yards out for her fourth goal of the season.

Ingalls’ scored from distance in the 64th minute, shooting from 30 yards out and hitting it into the top left corner of the goal.

“This past week we’ve really found a rhythm and settled into our style of play. We have had to overcome adversity with injured players and very little rest between games, but that just shows how resilient this team is,” Ingalls said. “God has really blessed this team and I’m so thankful for the leadership he’s provided for this group. We’re excited to move forward in the conference and hope to gain back some injured players before playing Saturday.”

Schanz made three saves for the Lady Eagles.

The Lady Eagles’ final game of the week ended with a 0-0 draw including two overtime periods.

Newman outshot the Lady Eagles 21-20. Schanz made eight saves for Oklahoma Christian and recorded her fifth career shutout. Aguilar took seven of Oklahoma Christian’s 20 shots, with three of those being on goal.

The Lady Eagles will finish their six-game homestead next Saturday against Heartland Conference rival Lubbock Christian University, while the Eagles will travel for the next two games to play The University of Texas of the Permian Basin on Thursday and Lubbock Christian on Saturday.

Statistics provided by the Oklahoma Christian University Sports Information office.