The UCA men’s soccer team secured its third win of the season Sept. 5, defeating the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles 1-0 at the Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex. 

“We are buzzing right now,” senior midfielder/forward Tajio James said. “We are happy. This is way better than last year.”

The Bears (3-1) secured the first and only goal of the game within the first three minutes with a winning shot from James.

“It was a good game. I was glad to score,” he said. “It was a great team win.”

For the rest of the game, the Bears played defense against the Golden Eagles (2-2-1).

The heated match led to four yellow cards — three for UCA and one for Oral Roberts. 

Head coach Frank Kohlenstein said both teams played games earlier in the week, contributing to the rough plays.

“It’s early in the season,” Kohlenstein said. “Both teams just played earlier in the week. So you know, our sport is meant to be played once a week. A lot of people don’t realize that, but like a starting soccer player in each match runs what a basketball player does in three games — so they really cover a lot of distance.” 

Kohlenstein said “one of the best things” the soccer Bears have is their attacking play.

“We feel like our attackers can get by anyone,” he said. “So with our midfield playing well and them playing well, it leads to a lot of dangerous play for us in the attack.”

The Golden Eagles attempted to even the score several times, but UCA sophomore goalie Javier Ramirez blocked the shots, making six critical saves throughout the game.

“It’s just keeping the pace every time, without slowing down on the game, just keeping running, pressing on the team, like if we defend as a team, we’re going to keep in this way, having clean sheets every game,” Ramirez said. “Of course, I have done saves, but this is thanks to the team.”

James agreed with the sentiment that this was a team win.

“You just go as the game goes on. You just adapt to the game — that’s really it,” James said. “Everyone did well. No individual person played better than the others. It was a team effort.”

Kohlenstein said the Bears played well because they act like a team on and off the field.

“Everybody’s defending, so that’s really a key, even if you’re a forward, they’re expecting you to defend well, so that’s the biggest plan as a team — working together,” Kohlenstein said. “Off the field is just as important as to come together as a family. Our house, the soccer house, is a huge part of it because we clean it ourselves. They have meals there. I mean, it’s really like a family.”

Alongside defensive plays, the Bears outshined the Golden Eagles offensively — outshooting them 12-10.

“It shows our students and our community just what kind of team that we have,” Kohlenstein said. “Hopefully, the word gets around and people come out to see the guys play because they really are an exceptional group of guys working together as a family and a team.”

Ramirez said the team’s confidence is “in the sky.”

“I think we can beat anyone,” Ramirez said.  “If there is a year that we can win the conference, it is this year.”

The men’s soccer team went against the Missouri State Bears on Sept. 10, and UCA will stay home for the next game, going head-to-head with the Florida International University Panthers at 7 p.m. Sept. 15.