ORU Men's Soccer Sneaks Past Houston Baptist

Johnny Chavez and Tarik Salkicic each had big nights for the Oral Roberts University men's soccer team as the Golden Eagles snapped a six-match winless streak against Houston Baptist with a 4-3 overtime victory Monday at the Case Soccer Complex.

ORU moved above .500 with the victory as the Golden Eagles improved to 3-2-1 on the season, while the Huskies dropped to 1-3-1.

HBU jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute on a goal from Stefan Lamanna. However, the Golden Eagles quickly answered with a goal by Chavez three minutes later to tie the match at one.

With the match still tied at one in the 66th minute, Chavez netted his second goal of the match, collecting a cross from Salkicic to make it 2-1. Juan Diego Padilla extended the lead to 3-1 in the 78th minute.

The Huskies tied the match with a pair of goals off corner kick set pieces. In the 81st minute, Thilo Borgmann sent in a corner to set up a header by Alex Baez. Borgmann repeated the same action in the 85th to set up Patrick Toh for the equalizer.

Finally, with less than three minutes remaining in the first overtime period, Gerardo Salas and Chavez set up the golden goal by Salkicic in front of the net for the 4-3 victory.

Turning Point

Tarik Salkicic was waiting for a pass from Gerardo Salas in the 98th minute, converting the play for the game-winner.

Inside The Box Score

· Johnny Chavez led the Golden Eagle attach with two goals on six shots, three of which were on target, and an assist on the golden goal.

· Tarik Salkicic had a goal and an assist, and Juan Diego Padilla netted a goal.

· Matthew Rogers was credited with two assists in the match, while Isaac Fraley, Alex White and Casey Cantor each earned an assist.

· Ben LaCourse improved to 3-2-1 on the season, recording three saves in the victory.

· ORU outshot HBU, 16-11.

· Alex Baez and Patrick Toh led HBU with a goal and two shots on goal each.

· Philip Poser (1-1-0) suffered the loss for HBU in goal, pulling in two saves.

News and Notes

· The victory was the first by ORU over HBU since September 13, 2009, snapping a six-match winless stretch.

· The two teams met in Houston, Texas, earlier this season on September 5, ending the match in a 1-1 draw.

· Jonathon Benegas saw his first action of the season in the first half.

Up Next

The Golden Eagles begin Summit League play on Saturday as they travel to face No. 21 Denver.