Clarksville, Ark.-The reigning American Southwest Conference Defensive Player of the Year did again for the Eagles as he netted the game-winning goal in the 79th minute to push Ozarks past Howard Payne University 1-0 in league play Saturday.
Travis Leach scored off a throw in from Thomas Mills for his fifth goal of the season. It was also the third game-winning goal of the season for Leach, who was honored along with his other fellow seniors prior to the match. With the win, Ozarks (7-5-3, 4-2-1 ASC) dramatically improves its chances to qualify for the playoffs as it currently sits in fourth place with two matches to go. The Eagles will travel to Texas to face Concordia University Texas October 30 and Mary Hardin-Baylor October 31.
"There was a lot of emotion with senior day and the challenge of trying to generate the same energy it took to tie nationally-ranked Texas-Dallas Thursday, but I'm proud of our seniors for playing hard and finding a way to lead the guys to another ASC victory," said head coach Matt Torok. "We didn't play our best soccer today as we only really got going in the last 20 minutes of the match. Our defense was solid throughout the match helping Austin receive a well-deserved shutout in his last match on Hurie Field. I am happy for the seniors to go out with a win at home. But I told the team there is still a lot of soccer left and we need to prepare for a tough road trip next weekend."
In the first half, Ozarks created a number of opportunities to score, including several headers that went wide. At the end of the half, Ozarks recorded seven shots. In the second half, the Eagles posted eight more shots to hold a 15-4 shots advantage in the match. Howard Payne goalkeeper Chehadi Allan had to come up with a big save on Emilio Vega's shot in the 66th minute. Following Leach's goal, Thomas Mills nearly put the Eagles ahead 2-0, but his shot hit off the crossbar in the 80th minute. Leach finished with six shots.
Austin Benner posted his fourth shutout of the season in goal.
Howard Payne drops to 3-9-1 overall and 1-7-1 in the ASC.
