Bison host SAC Championship
November 10, 2010
Head Coach Brent Coates calls it a team of destiny, the team’s spiritual mentor calls it a blessing; regardless of what others may label the situation, the Oklahoma Baptist University is just one game away from winning the conference title and advancing to the national tournament.
First, OBU defeated St. Gregory’s in a close physical matchup; there were two fights that broke out between the teams both during the game and after the Bison victory.
The Bison fell behind early in the first half when an SGU player knocked in a shot after a corner kick. After a passionate halftime speech by Coates and another by Pedro Pereira, OBU came out motivated and intensified for the second half. OBU evened up the score when Pereira headed in a goal after a corner kick in the 64th minute.
Rejuvenated by their success, the Bison began drilling shots at the keeper from all angles and distances, but the game winner came with just two minutes to play. Pereira won a ball inside the box, and Victor Costa was there to make the finish and push OBU to a 2-1 victory.
OBU hosted John Brown University Monday for another close game that ended with another Victor Costa goal to end the game. Costa knocked in a shot on an empty net after the JBU keeper came out to contest a ball in the air, and knocked the ball back toward his own goal. This goal came just 36 seconds into overtime.
“I am really honored to contribute the game winning goal in the last two games,” Costa said. “I am so proud of our team for pushing on. I can’t wait to play OCU and to see what our team has ahead of us. After these last two games, I feel like the heart of our team has shown that we’re all in this together and we can do anything.”
JBU came out firing in the beginning of the game, and it looked as though they would take an early lead after putting five shots on goal in the first 20 minutes of the game.
The Bison began to pick up their defensive effort, largely thanks to Jacob Hibbard, Felipe Souza and Cristiano Sampaio, and launched some counterattacks of their own.
Neither team gained a clear upper hand until the second half. OBU had five near misses that hit the posts or went just outside of the goal that would have put the game away, but managed to seal the win 36 seconds into the overtime to earn one more game with Oklahoma City University on Thursday.
“It is awesome to finally have this opportunity,” Coates said. “To play in the SAC championship game, and to host it on our field, this has never happened before. John Brown was a really tough team and it was a tough game, but we did it.”
Hibbard and Victor Costa were named as Defensive and Offensive Men of the Match, and they were also named as the SAC players of the week for the first week of November.
OBU will host OCU in the Sooner Athletic Conference Championship Thursday at 2 p.m. Admission for students is $4 and $6 for adults.
