Drovers Fall in Title Game

BETHANY – With two second-half goals, No. 3 Southern Nazarene downed the 17th-ranked University of Science and Arts 2-0 Friday afternoon in the NAIA Region VI championship match.

With the loss, the Drovers (14-3-3 overall) leave their national tournament hopes in the hands of a committee made up of NAIA and National Soccer Coaches Association members. With regional tournaments concluding all around the country this weekend, USAO should know its fate by Sunday afternoon.

SNU receives an automatic bid into the national tournament in Daytona Beach, Fla., next week. Either USAO or Oklahoma Christian (11-4-2 overall) will receive an at-large bid into the tournament. According head coach Jimmy Hampton, USAO’s chances are slim despite having beaten OC two out of three times this season, having a better overall record and finishing higher in the Sooner Athletic Conference.

OC holds an advantage in an overall points system which is most likely what the committee will consider most when handing out at-large bids. That system is what helped No. 12 OC move ahead of USAO in the rankings before the regional tournament – where the Drovers beat OC for the second time. That point system might have had a hand in USAO falling from No. 7 in the country completely out of the top-25 in one week after a loss to SNU and a tie at Oklahoma City.

For USAO and seniors NeNe Coulibally, Adam Day, Tommy Hubbard, Freddy Oballa and Keith Ooten – who have accounted for 118 career goals – their wins may mean nothing to the committee.

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