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- FALL ATHLETES HONORED AT RECEPTION
- PIONEERS MAKE HISTORY WITH WIN
- SOCCER TEAM RUNS INTO NAIA'S TOP SCORER
- PIONEERS COME UP SHORT AT MID-AMERICA
- PURCELL AND ANDERSON SCORE FOR PIONEERS
- WAYLAND WOMEN CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE ON THE ROAD
- PIONEERS FALL TO JOHN BROWN
- SLOW START DOOMS SOCCER TEAM
- PIONEERS HANG TOUGH AGAINST DEFENDING CHAMPIONS
- PIONEERS COME UP SHORT IN CONFERENCE OPENER
- NEWCOMERS KEY FIRST HOME WIN
- COMEBACK FALLS SHORT
- PIONEERS WIN BIG AT CSW
- SOCCER TEAM FALLS IN OPENER
- PIONEER SOCCER PROGRAM KICKS OFF AUGUST 24
- SOCCER PROGRAM REESTABLISHED
FALL ATHLETES HONORED AT RECEPTION
Eleven Pioneer athletes were presented awards at the Wayland Baptist University Fall Athletic Awards Reception on Tuesday evening at McClung Center.
Analicia Estrada, a junior from El Paso, and freshman Ashleah Richards of Portales were named the Offensive and Defensive Volleyball Players of the Year. Freshman Anika Voigt of Potsdam, Germany, was the named the Newcomer of the Year, and Hailey Clark, a junior from Lubbock, was honored as Comeback Player of the Year.
Cross Country awards were given to freshman Caroline Karunde of Kenya as Female Athlete of the Year. Timmy McCune, a junior from Denver City, was named Male Athlete of the Year. Freshman Rosa Galvan of Dallas earned Newcomer of the Year honors, and sophomore Kirby Dunn was of Bowie was presented as the Most Improved Athlete.
The Pioneer soccer team received three awards. Senior Tessa Rogers of Lubbock and Pampa freshman Jeneé Rogers were named Most Valuable Players. Rogers was also awarded as the Defensive Player of the Year, and freshman Najuka Anderson of Lubbock earned Offensive Player of the Year honors.
Also recognized at the awards banquet were Daktronics/NAIA All-American Scholar Athletes Kristen Raines from the women’s cross country team and volleyball players Clark and Bethany Lewis.
PIONEERS MAKE HISTORY WITH WIN
The Wayland Baptist soccer team made history in their final game of the 2007 season Saturday afternoon at Hilliard Field against St. Gregory’s University. The 1-0 win over the Lady Cavaliers is the first-ever Sooner Athletic Conference victory by a Pioneer soccer team.
“I’m really happy for the young ladies,” said first year coach Shiloh Posey. “It could have been a prettier win, but it was a win and that’s what counts. These girls are now a part of Wayland history.”
The lone goal scored in the contest happened about 16-and-a-half minutes into the first period and was hotly disputed by SGU. Danielle Purcell placed a corner kick in front of the net and after a mad scramble during which the SGU goalkeeper appeared to have made the save, WBU sophomore Kayla Lucus kicked the loose ball and bounced it off a St. Greg’s player onto the post and then off another Lady Cavalier into the net. The visitors argued that Lucus interfered with the goalkeeper and a foul should have been called, but after the referees conferred, the goal was allowed to stand.
Even though the Pioneers had the wind at their backs during the first period, the team had few quality chances to put the ball in the net.
“I don’t know if it was the wind or just a bit of nerves there at the beginning since it was our last game and the girls knew they had a chance to make something happen today, but we came out and played a lot better in the second half and had some real quality chances,” explained Posey.
In her final game at WBU, senior Tessa Rogers put five shots on goal, tying Lucus for the team lead. Freshman Najuka Anderson had eight shots, two of which were on goal, and Maggie Mitchell, another freshman, put two of her three shots at the net. As a team, the Pioneers out-shot SGU 30-17.
WBU ends its first season back on the soccer field with a 3-13 record and a 1-8 conference mark. Anderson was the team leader in points with 15, five of which were goals. Sophomore Danielle Purcell had 11 points on the year, and Lucus had nine. Freshman Kylie Middleton started and played every minute in goal for the Pioneers during the 2007 season.
“You know in a lot of ways this game was indicative of our entire season,” added Posey. “We just never quit, never gave up and I’m proud that the girls were finally rewarded for all their hard work. I hope by winning this last game it will leave them with a good taste and make them hungry for next year.”
SOCCER TEAM RUNS INTO NAIA'S TOP SCORER
Freshmen Najuka Anderson and Maggie Mitchell gave the Pioneers an early 2-0 lead over Rogers State University, but Robin Sutherland, the NAIA's leading point producer, proved to be too much to handle for the WBU women and they fell 8-3 Tuesday afternoon at Hilliard Field.
Anderson put the WBU women on top with her team-leading fifth goal on the season on a header off a corner kick from Danielle Purcell eight minutes into the game, and then Maggie Mitchell got her third goal this fall when she hit the top of the net on a high arching kick over the RSU goalkeeper nine minutes later.
Rogers State answered with four straight goals from Sutherland, three off of passes from Vanessa Oxford, to give the Hillcats a 4-2 advantage.
The Pioneers scored first in the second period when freshman Kelly Abrego found the back of the net from a big pile in front to close the gap to 4-3, but the Hillcats exploded for four goals in the final 20 minutes of the match to get their 14th win of the season.
Sutherland broke the Sooner Athletic Conference single season scoring mark by putting in two more goals and handing out an assist in the second half. The senior from Rogers, Ark. has 36 goals on the season and 84 points to lead the NAIA in both categories.
The Pioneers fell to 2-13 in 2007 and 0-8 in conference play. Rogers State is 14-2 and 7-2.
WBU will play it's final game of the season Saturday afternoon at Hilliard Field against winless St. Gregory's beginning at 3 p.m.
PIONEERS COME UP SHORT AT MID-AMERICAN
Oklahoma City, Okla.---Freshman Maggie Mitchell got things going in the right direction Saturday afternoon, giving the Pioneer soccer team the early lead, but Mid-America Christian came back with four unanswered goals to take the 4-1 non-conference victory.
WBU coach Shiloh Posey said that his team just didn't have enough gas left in the tank after playing back-to-back games for the first time all season.
"The girls worked really hard, but we just didn't have enough at the end," said Pioneer coach Shiloh Posey. "There were some pretty questionable calls that went against us in the second half and those, combined with the fatigue, did us in. We're going to be okay though. The girls haven't given up and we still have some chances coming up."
The injury-riddled Pioneers have a week off to heal some nagging injuries before taking on conference-rival Oklahoma Baptist next Saturday in Shawnee.
PURCELL AND ANDERSON SCORE FOR PIONEERS
Chickasha, Okla.---With the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma holding a 3-0 lead, Pioneer sophomore Danielle Purcell scored her fifth goal of the year and then freshman Najuka Anderson made it a one goal game three minutes later with her fifth goal of the season, but the Lady Drovers put two more in late to give USAO the 5-2 conference win Friday afternoon.
The WBU women, who have been decimated by injuries in the past few weeks, put six of their eight shots on goal in the game. USAO outshot the Pioneers 14-3 in the first half, but the contest was much closer after the intermission. The Wayland defense held the Lady Drovers to just seven shots in the final period.
Emma Garcia took a team-high four shots in the game, while Purcell and Anderson both scored on their only shots.
The Pioneers are now 2-10 on the season and 0-6 in Sooner Athletic Conference play. USAO improves to 5-4-1 and 2-2 in SAC action.
WAYLAND WOMEN CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE ON THE ROAD
The Wayland Baptist Pioneer soccer team continued to struggle on the road, losing 10-0 Monday afternoon at Southern Nazarene University.
The Pioneers held the Crimson Storm scoreless for the majority of the first half, although the home team recorded 28 shots. SNU finally put the ball in the net with two seconds left on the clock before intermission.
The Storm, which improved to 6-3-1 and 4-0 in conference play, erupted for nine goals in the second period, however, and outshot the Wayland women by a margin of 57-4. Freshman Kelly Abergo, who left the field on Friday with an ankle sprain, had the only shot on goal for the Pioneers, which fell to 2-9 and 0-5.
WBU continues SAC play later in the week with road games against USAO on Friday and Mid-America Christian on Saturday.
PIONEERS FALL TO JOHN BROWN
The Pioneers stayed in the game for a period and a half against John Brown University on Friday afternoon at Hilliard Field, but fatigue eventually set in and the visitors scored four unanswered goals to get the 5-1 win over the Wayland women.
JBU scored with just under one minute in the game on a break-away. A few minutes later, the Pioneers' already short bench got shorter when freshman midfielder Kelly Abrego suffered a severe ankle sprain and was forced to leave the game. Wayland began the contest without the services of freshman Renee Ulloa, one of the team's scoring leaders who is out indefinitely with a facial injury.
WBU hung tough the rest of the period holding the Golden Eagles, who saw action from 21 different players in the game, scoreless.
Maggie Mitchell, a freshman from Lubbock, got the Pioneers on the scoreboard at the five minute mark of the second period when she took a rebound off the post and used her head to put the ball into the net. Mitchell, playing for the injured Abrego, was seeing her first action in over three weeks after breaking her wrist in the season's second game.
WBU freshman goalkeeper Kylie Middleton, who has faced a total of 73 shots, 37 of which were on goal, in the past two games, made several outstanding saves to keep the Pioneers in the match.
"When you're playing with such a short bench, then lose a player to injury early, it takes a toll," said Pioneer first-year coach Shiloh Posey. "Kylie had a good game in goal, and everyone tried their best, but fatigue just caught up with us."
The Pioneers, 2-8 and 0-4, return to Sooner Athletic Conference action on Monday when they travel to Bethany, Okla. for a game against Southern Nazarene University.
SLOW START DOOMS SOCCER TEAM
The fans that arrived late to the women's soccer match at Hilliard Field on Friday afternoon can be forgiven for thinking that the Wayland Baptist team came away with a 1-0 victory. After all, the scoreboard was out-of-order and the only goal the largest majority of fans saw was Pioneer Kayla Lucus's header into the ENMU net at the 36 minute mark of the first period. Unfortunately, what those late-arriving fans didn't see were two goals in the first seven minutes of the match by the visitors from Portales to give the Zias the 2-1 victory.
ENMU came out blazing in the game, scoring goals on two of their first three shots and holding a 16-6 shot advantage at one point. The WBU defense tightened up with about 15 minutes left in the opening period and the match was fairly even from that point with the home team narrowing the margin to 18-11 at the break.
The Pioneers actually outshot ENMU in the second half, putting four of their nine shots on goal as compared to two of seven for the Zias.
Junior Tessa Rogers led WBU with five shots, three of which were on goal, while freshman Amber Perez got four shots away, and Najuka Anderson forced the Eastern goalie to make two saves on three of her shots.
Samantha Lawrence and Amy Wilcox got the two goals for ENMU, which improved its record to 6-2 on the season. The Pioneers fall to 2-6.
Wayland returns to Sooner Athletic Conference play this week. First the Pioneers must travels to Oklahoma City on Tuesday for a meeting with Oklahoma City University. They return home on Friday to play John Brown University at 3 p.m.
PIONEERS HANG TOUGH AGAINST DEFENDING CHAMPIONS
Wayland Baptist women's soccer coach Shiloh Posey knew going into yesterday evening's match against Oklahoma Christian that his young team would be faced with its toughest test so far this season. When the final buzzer sounded, the scoreboard showed that the Pioneers lost 3-0 to the defending Sooner Athletic Conference champions, but Posey felt like the young women on his team proved themselves to a lot of people.
"The scoreboard may have showed the score as 3-0, but in my mind they scored one goal against us," said Posey. "The effort that we put out was outstanding, and I think that we showed tonight that we can be competitive in this league."
The Lady Eagles returned their entire squad from last year's championship team which finished the regular season undefeated and ranked eighth in the NAIA. Two of the three goals they scored against Wayland, a first-year program with 13 freshmen on its roster, were on penalty kicks which were the result of two questionable calls by the official.
"Both times the ball was kicked into our arms," explained Posey. "The rule states that there has to be intent on a defensive player's part, and unfortunately that's the way the official though he saw it. You take away those two calls and it is a 1-0 ball game."
The lone goal of the first half came on the first penalty kick at just under the seven minute mark. OC outshot the Pioneers 15-9 in the half, and put eight shots on goal, compared to five by WBU. Wayland's Tessa Rogers, who led the Pioneers with four shots on goal, had a great opportunity to tie the game up at the 38 minute mark of the second half when she took a corner kick from Renee Ulloa in front of the net, but her shot sailed over the goal.
Kristen Brown's second penalty kick of the game came 17 minutes later when a WBU defender slipped and the kicked ball glanced off her arm as she tried to regain her balance. The final goal was scored by Jill Lintner after a nifty pass from MacKenzie McMahon with 14 minutes left. The Pioneers got four shots on goal in the period, while the Lady Eagles forced WBU goalkeeper Kylie Middleton to make six saves. The Pioneers, 2-5 overall and 0-2 in conference play, are back at Hilliard Field on Friday afternoon for a 4:00 match-up against Eastern New Mexcio University.
PIONEERS COME UP SHORT IN CONFERENCE OPENER
A large crowd was on hand to witness the Wayland Baptist Pioneer soccer team's Sooner Athletic Conference opener Saturday afternoon at Hilliard Field. Unfortunately the majority of the fans went away disappointed as the Pioneers fell to Northwestern Oklahoma State University, 4-1.
WBU won the battle of the statistics, out-shooting the Rangers, 29-22. Eighteen of those Pioneer shots came in the first half when the home team had the wind at its back. Wayland also edged NWOSU in shots on goal, 12-11.
"I can't say enough good things about the way our entire team played today," said Pioneer coach Shiloh Posey. "The stats speak for themselves. We worked hard the past three days on the speed of the game and closing down on defense, and the girls really showed improvement in those areas compared to the game earlier in the week.
"It's just so frustrating to do all the little things right, and then have a couple of bad bounces go against us that wind up costing us the game."
After Northwestern's Ashley Guinn scored the first of her two goals at the 27:35 mark of the first period, Wayland's Najuka Anderson intercepted a high kick from the Ranger goalie and headed the ball into the net to tie the score at one.
NWOSU regained the lead in the second period when Jackie Kopacek put a direct kick over the outstretched arms of Pioneer goalkeeper Kylie Middleton into the net. Eleven minutes later, Guinn recorded her second goal after a turnover in the defensive zone by WBU.
The final goal of the game came after Middleton failed to cover a direct kick by Guinn and the rebound went straight to teammate Ashley MacWhirter who put the ball into the back of the net.
"We wore down a little bit in the second half," Posey added. "A couple of key individuals are fighting off illness, and that made a difference down the stretch.
"But the key thing is that we keep improving, and as long as that continues then we have a shot at winning some games."
Northwestern is now 3-4 on the season and 1-0 in SAC play, while the Pioneers are 2-4 and 0-1. WBU hosts another conference opponent, Oklahoma Christian University, at Hilliard Field on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m.
NEWCOMERS KEY FIRST HOME WIN
Shiloh Posey, head coach of the Wayland Baptist soccer team, had two new players on the field Friday afternoon and between them, they accounted for all four of the Pioneer goals in the 4-2 WBU victory over Howard Payne at Hilliard Field.
Sophomore Kayla Lucus scored two goals and had an assist, and junior Tessa Rogers put in the final goal to give the Pioneers their second victory of the season. Both young ladies were forced to sit out the first three matches of the season due to eligibility issues.
Just like on Tuesday, WBU couldn’t put the ball in the net in the first half and trailed 2-0 at the break.
“We just couldn’t get going in the first half,” said Posey. “We weren’t going after the ball and we didn’t seem to play with any heart. I guess you could say that I gave them a stern talking to at the half. I told them that were the ones who had to do it, that I couldn’t do it for them by yelling and screaming from the sidelines.”
Lucus, a graduate of Frenship High who ran on the Wayland indoor track team last winter got WBU started with an unassisted goal about eight minutes into the final period. Thirteen minutes later she had the assist on Danielle Purcell’s third goal of the season, and then put in another one of her own less than a minute later.
“Kayla has a lot of speed and that is a big plus for us. As good as she was, though, I was just as impressed with Tessa. Tessa has played college ball. She’s got that ‘can’t quit’ mentality. Her experience and leadership, plus her maturity, is a tremendous help with our team which is predominantly made up of freshmen.”
The Pioneers outshot the Yellow Jackets 27-9 in the second half and 44-15 in the game. Lucus had 10 shots, while freshman Renee Ulloa, who it the crossbar twice, had nine.
The Wayland women are back on the road on Tuesday with a match at New Mexico Highlands University. On Saturday, they are back at Hilliard Field for a Sooner Athletic Conference match-up with Northwestern Oklahoma State University.
COMEBACK FALLS SHORT
by Sean Ditmore
In spite of a stirring second half comeback, the Wayland Pioneers’ soccer squad came up on the short end of a 3-2 decision during their first home opener against the Mid-American Christian Evangels on Tuesday afternoon at Hilliard Field.
The Pioneers, who trailed 2-0 at halftime, managed to climb back into the game with a long distance shot by freshman Amber Perez about four minutes into the second period. Two more freshmen got into the act 33 minutes later when Renee Ulloa put a shot on net that the MACU goalie failed to handle, and Kelly Abrego kicked in the rebound to tie the game at two.
Pioneers coach Shiloh Posey was encouraged by the comeback.
“The girls showed that they can come back from being down, they showed a lot of heart,” Posey said.
Ultimately, however, it would not be enough, as Evangel’s junior Christina Black scored the go-ahead goal on a breakaway with just over two minutes remaining in the game.
When asked if fatigue may have played a role late in the game for the Pioneer team, which currently has only 14 eligible players, Posey said, “I think that was part of it… one of our starters went down early [sophomore forward Danielle Purcell], which put us a player short for most of the game.”
The Pioneers did their chances of winning few favors in the first half by giving up a pair of goals to Evangels freshman Brittany Foos on corner kicks near the end of the half.
“We didn’t mark up like we should have, we didn’t play defense like we should have,” Posey said
The Evangels would have six corner kicks in the game, while Wayland had none.
The first-half might have been wider but for a spectacular save on a penalty shot and the subsequent rebound by freshman goalkeeper Kylie Middleton. Middleton finished with eight saves on the day.
“It’s very rare that you get a save on a penalty kick like that, much less two (shots). She did an excellent job on that,” Posey said.
The Pioneers play next at 3:00 p.m. Friday against Howard Payne at Hilliard Field.
PIONEERS WIN BIG AT CSW
HOBBS —Freshman Renee Ulloa recorded the first hat-trick in Wayland Baptist soccer history to lead the Pioneers to a 7-0 thrashing over College of the Southwest here on Friday afternoon.
Freshman Najuka Anderson and sophomore Danielle Purcell added two goals a piece in WBU's first win of the season.
Leading 2-0 at the end of the first period, the Pioneers exploded for five goals in 19 shots in the final half of play.
Freshman goalkeeper Kylie Middleton had a quiet afternoon in getting the first shutout of her short career. The Lubbock Monterey graduate faced only one shot on goal in the match.
The Pioneers are at home next week for two matches. On Tuesday, they take on Mid-America Christian University, then play host to Howard Payne on Friday.
SOCCER TEAM FALLS IN OPENER
(Plainview Daily Herald)
ODESSA — Wayland Baptist head soccer coach Shiloh Posey knew it would be difficult to begin the Pioneers’ start-up program after a three-year absence.
On Friday, the first-year coach saw first-hand exactly how difficult it will be.
In the Pioneers’ season-opener here, UT-Permian Basin shut out the young WBU squad, 8-0.
The Pioneers next will play at 4 p.m. Friday at College of the Southwest in Hobbs, N.M. WBU’s home-opener will be at 2 p.m. Sept. 4.
“Losing is never fun,” Posey said. “But I told the girls to remember how this bad taste in their mouths feels.
“We have a thin roster right now, and it’s tough under our circumstances to go against a Division II school like UT-PB. We did not adjust to the speed of the college game. But we learned some good lessons, and we will look at our mistakes and correct them.”
Posey, who doesn’t have enough players to field an 11-on-11 scrimmage in practice, did see positives. He pointed to the play of midfielder Jenee’ Norris, defender Renee Ulloa, defender Pam Black and forward Maggie Mitchell, all entering their first season of college soccer.
“Renee played her heart out,” Posey said. “She never quit from beginning to end. Pam stepped up on defense, and Maggie had a good, overall match. Jenee stood out defensively. She did a good job of protecting the middle of the field.
“But all of the girls played hard, and I am proud of the overall effort.”
Posey said his team’s spirits are a little down, but he expects the team to progress.
“Right now, we are just going through some first-year growing pains,” he said. “Again, we will take what we learned (Friday) and improve our overall game.”
Ulloa led the Pioneers with three shots, two of which were scored shots on goal.
Najuka Anderson and Danielle Purcell registered a shot on goal each.
WBU goalkeeper Kylie Middleton turned back nine UT-PB shots on goal.
Permian Basin opened the scoring at 2:30 when Tiffany Richter stole a pass and scored from just in front of the Pioneers’ net.
UT-PB added another goal 10 minutes later from 18 yards out, and the Falcons made it a 2-0 lead on an 18-yard goal from DeNeal Nutt.
Richter finished the first-half scoring on an unassisted goal off a rebound to give the hosts a 3-0 cushion.
The Falcons scored five goals in the second half to close the scoring.
PIONEER SOCCER PROGRAM KICKS OFF AUGUST 24
A new era in Pioneer sports begins August 24 when the women's soccer team and its coaches Shiloh Posey and Natasha Hunter travel to Odessa to kick off the 2007 season against the University of Texas-Permian Basin.
A week later, the Pioneers take to the road once again for a match against College of the Southwest. Fans of the new WBU soccer program will finally get a look at the team on Tuesday, September 4 when the Pioneers play host to Mid-America Christian University at 2 p.m.
The WBU women have a total of eight home matches, six of which come in the month of September. Sooner Athletic Conference contests against Northwestern Oklahoma State, Oklahoma Christian and John Brown highlight the home schedule in September, along with non-conference match-ups against Howard Payne on Sept. 7 and Eastern New Mexico on Sept. 21.
Click here for a look at the complete 2007 Pioneer schedule.
SOCCER PROGRAM REESTABLISHED
This is an exciting time in the life of WBU! A new scholarship based women’s soccer program has started, and we are looking forward to a great beginning in the 2007 season.
As a member of the Sooner Athletic Conference, we are anticipating a high level of competition from some outstanding programs, and feel confident that we can compete strongly in every match.
Supported by our faculty, staff, and student body, the future looks bright, and we eagerly await the opportunity to begin “A New Tradition” at Wayland Baptist University.
Shiloh Posey has been named as new head coach of the women's soccer program at Wayland Baptist University. Posey, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree from WBU in 1995, worked as a volunteer assistant for the Pioneer soccer team in 2003 while working on a Master of Education degree, which he completed in 2004.
He has spent the past three years at Stephenville High School, where he was the head girl's soccer coach. Posey, who holds a National "D" license from the NTSSA. has led the Honeybees to the playoffs the past three seasons, winning the program's only Bi-District Championship. He also has a NSCAA national license.
Wayland implemented women's soccer in the fall of 2001 as a non-scholarship program. The Pioneer team went 7-46 over a three-year period, but was winless in conference play. The school disbanded the program following the 2003 season, in large part due to a lack of competitiveness caused by the gap between the WBU program and its opponents, the majority of which offered scholarship aid.
The new women's program at Wayland will provide athletic scholarships at a level consistent with the average of other soccer programs in the Sooner Athletic Conference, according to Feris. Currently, eight members of the SAC compete in women's soccer.
Joining Posey on the Pioneer coaching staff will be former Pioneer All- Conference player Natasha Hunter. An original member of the WBU soccer program who transferred to Northwestern Oklahoma State University to finish out her career, Hunter, a native of Lubbock, will act as graduate assistant coach.
