Clarksville, Ark.-American Southwest Conference East champion University of the Ozarks fell to Hardin-Simmons University 4-1 in the ASC men's soccer tournament held in Clarksville over the weekend.
Ozarks finishes the season with a 18-3-1 overall record. Ozarks’ Will Masterson would score the game’s first goal to give U of O a 1-0 lead. Masterson nailed a corner kick shot early in the game, but Hardin-Simmons countered with a goal at the thirty-five minute mark to tie the match at 1-1. Despite back and forth action the rest of the half, neither team would score until second half action. In front of a boisterous Ozarks’ crowd, the Eagles would give themselves an opportunity for a goal early in the second half. However, U of O was unable to convert on a penelty kick just five minutes into the final half. HSU then went on to score three unanswered goals for the win. U of O’s Aaron Coats, Ricky Herrera and Daniel Faires were named to the All-Tournament team. U of O finished the season ranked among the national leaders in several offensive categories in NCAA III. Ozarks finished the 2001 season first in goals scored (92) and second in goals per game (4.35) in NCAA III. Four players finished the season ranking high in various national statistics. Senior Marcos Gonzalez led NCAA III in assists per game (1.25) and ranked eighth in points per game (3.15). Gonzlaez also set a new NCAA III record on September 4 by tallying 8 assists in one match. Armando Vergara scored four goals and had ten points in a match on October 12. Both were third best best for the year. Freshman goalkeeper Chris Schultz ranked seventeenth in goals against average (.73). The team also scored 12 goals in one match, sixth best in NCAA III this season.
Topics: Athletics