Drovers Steamroll JBU

CHICKASHA – The floodgates opened Friday afternoon as No. 15 USAO beat up on John Brown 5-1 at Drover Field.

Senior NeNe Coulibally posted his first three-goal game as the University of Science and Arts made a clear statement about its position in the region and national scene. USAO used its 10 days off to get healthy and refocus after a loss to No. 6 Southern Nazarene and a tie at No. 17 Oklahoma City dropped the Drovers from No. 7 in the country completely out of the top-25 last week.

The roller coaster ride of rankings moved USAO back up to No. 15 on Wednesday, eight days after it’s last game – a 1-0 win at No. 14 Oklahoma Baptist.

Friday the Drovers started off slowly as head coach Jimmy Hampton experimented with his lineup. Minutes after entering the game Coulibally broke the scoreless tie in the 36th minute. Tommy Hubbard bounced a header off the crossbar, and Coulibally cleaned up the rebound.

He scored again two minutes later on a penalty kick after a John Brown player tackled Hubbard in front of the net.

JBU’s Jonathan Hagen pulled the Golden Eagles to within a goal just after halftime, but Coulibally netted his second penalty kick in the 72nd minute to give the Drovers a commanding 3-1 lead.

Hubbard tied Coulibally with his team-leading ninth goal of the season a few minutes later to make the score 4-1, and Aiden Ashmore served up a perfect cross to Joseph Oballa for USAO’s final goal.

USAO improved to 9-1-2 overall and 4-1-2 in the Sooner Athletic Conference. The Drovers, currently second in the league, will host St. Gregory’s at 3 p.m. Tuesday.