Embracing the Opportunity

At 5:10 a.m. on a quiet Thursday morning in November, a charter bus full of soccer players and coaches pulled out of the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma parking lot and into a still-sleeping Chickasha.

They drove to the southernmost tip of Texas to score a convincing 3-0 victory in the opening round of the National Tournament and make history for USAO. After defeating University of Texas at Brownsville, it was on to the rest of the tournament for the Drovers.

A week later — midnight Thanksgiving night — the men headed out of a dark, quiet Chickasha once again, this time heading east to Orange Beach, Ala.

The semester-long preparation of early morning practices and late afternoon drills paid off for the Drover men’s soccer team, who competed for the first time in school history in the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship quarterfinals in December.

“We told the boys … let’s make history,” Head Coach Jimmy Hampton said.

Despite strong 14-4 season and a Top 25 spot nationally, the Drovers were somewhat surprised to receive an at-large bid to the national tournament having been defeated by Oklahoma City in the conference tournament.

But after winning the opening round game, the Drovers took on Great Falls, Mont., in the second round. It was a team they knew nearly nothing about.

“I don’t think you get lucky to get to the 16,” Hampton said. “From our standpoint, we will focus more on what will make us successful.”

Team captain and senior defender John Gardner, a senior double major in business administration and physical education from Liverpool, England, said before the game that he would have to treat it as his last game, even though he will be back next season.

“This is the biggest game I’ve ever played at USAO,” he said before the game. “We’ve had more than one second chance this year. We’re not holding back anything.”

After giving up the lead against Great Falls, the game went into overtime tied 3-3. Glaswegian Frank Gibson, a senior who is pursuing a double major in business administration and physical education, found the net on a free kick, winning the game and saving the Drovers’ post-season life.

In the next round — the tournament quarterfinals — the Drovers were defeated by William Jewell, who’d previously knocked off SAC-rival Oklahoma Baptist.

The Drovers went into halftime up 1-0 but could not continue to contain the tough William Jewell offense and fell 3-1, ending the season.

“I’m proud of the boys. It was a good year,” Hampton said. “I’m proud of the four seniors. I appreciate what they’ve done for the program, and I wish them luck.”

After the strong season, Hampton was named National Soccer Coaches Association of America and NAIA Southwest Region Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. Additionally, junior mid-fielder Niall Crick, a junior communication major from Edinburgh, was named NAIA All-America Third Team and senior forward Nikola Cakarevic, a senior business major from Serbia, was named NAIA All-America Honorable Mention.