The Northern Oklahoma College Mavericks swept Eastern in NJCAA Region 2 Soccer action Thursday on a cold windy day in Tonkawa.
The Maverick men (3-9-1) were 2-1 winners while the Maverick women (4-6-1) won 1-0.
Maverick Men 2, Eastern 1
NOC used an early and late goal to upend Eastern 2-1.
Eastern had the wind in the first half, but it was Northern that struck first with Gio Herrera scoring a goal just four minutes into the game. Matthew Cuellar was credited with the assist.
The early goal seemed to wake up the Mountaineers, and the Mavericks effort seemed to wane after getting on the scoreboard. Eastern controlled most of the possession with the strong wind behind their back. The Mountaineers would get on the scoreboard themselves with 12 minutes left in the half. Eastern took a long shot that went over the head of Maverick goalkeeper, Euan Morrison. The first half would end tied as neither team was able to find the net in the last twelve minutes.
Northern took full advantage of the wind in the second half creating several chances in the opening minutes of the half. Eastern settled into the half after initially being on their heels and created a chance with a breakaway, but Morrison made a great save to keep the game tied.
Late in the game Gavin Reno played a ball to George Robinson between two Eastern defenders. Robinson collected the ball and chipped it over the goalkeeper for the game winner. Once again after the goal Eastern was able to get possession, but got nothing out of it.
“It was great to get the win, but we didn’t play well at all,” said Mavs coach Michael Duroy. “It may have been our worst performance of the season. Eastern had more possession than we did and we dodged a few bullets. Euan made a really nice save to keep the game tied, and then George made a great play at the end. We needed a win like this. We feel like we have had the better of the play in several games this year that we have lost, so it feels great to have one go our way when we didn’t play our best.”
Mavs Women 1, Eastern 0
NOC scored an early goal to beat Eastern 1-0.
The Mavericks started the game quickly going against a strong wind and pressured Eastern straight away. The Mavericks had numerous attempts on target but was denied ...
