The Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) women’s soccer won against Ottawa University (Arizona) with a score of 3-0 in the first round of the NCCAA Division I National Women’s Tournament.

The Lady Lions played an overall great performance in the first round of the NCCAA Tournament. SAGU managed to put up nine shots in the first half and eight in the second half for a total of 17 in the game. In the first half, senior Nadine Jaimes scored two goals: the first goal was 30 minutes into the period and the second came with eight minutes left in the period. Jaimes finished off her hat trick in the second half by kicking in SAGU’s third and final goal off an assist from freshman Lauryn Cabudol. Goalkeeper Sarah Palmer also had five saves for the Lady Lions.

The Lady Lions will move onto the next round of play on and face-off against #2 seed Concordia University Ann Arbor at 3:30 P.M. on Wednesday November 29, 2017.

The SAGU volleyball team made a near sweep of the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) all-conference and awards. SAGU completed the regular season as the Sooner Athletic Conference champions with a record of 26-6 and made it to the semifinals of the SAC tournament.

“This has been a very special season for the SAGU Lions. Our girls have worked so hard. 26-6 is an incredible season and we still have a lot of volleyball left to play," says SAGU Head Coach Hank Moore.

This season proved to be monumental for many of the SAGU volleyball members. Seniors Paulyae Dawkins and Jessica Sodich, and sophomore Sophia Ivy were honored by the Sooner Athletic Conference for first team all-conference. Kali Shaw was named to the SAC second team all-conference as well. Celi Bruce and Mollie McBride were also named to the all-conference honorable mention team.

Coach Hank Moore, who was named the SAC Coach of the Year, had plenty to say about the honorees, “Paulyae finished the year in the top five in hitting percentage and in blocks this year. She has done a great job as one of top middles in the entire NAIA. Sophia Ivy saw her assist numbers rank as the second best statistical setter in our conference. Defensively, Sophia doubled her block totals from the 2016 season. Sophia tied our school record twice this season with 61 assist. She now ranks number 3 all-time in assist for SAGU. And finally, Jessica Sodich. Jessica came into this season and changed our season completely. She led the SAC in kills all season. She tied a school record with 34 kills in a single match. Her 467 kills is the fourth highest total all time. Jessica ranks #3 all time in kills and in digs. She has left a profound mark of this program."

Sodich was also named SAC Newcomer of the Year.

According to Moore, the individual accomplishments are great, but the season as a whole has been more special. “Being conference champions is the biggest award for our team, " he says. "As far as being Coach of the Year, that is a team award. Our coaching staff has worked extremely hard to put our kids in the best position to win. This season has been a great time of seeing God do a great work in all our lives. We play as unto the Lord. Our ultimate desire is for God to be glorified through our team. I know that He is pleased with all these girls have accomplished.”

The SAGU football team picked up their eighth victory of the season with a 29-8 win over Bacone College.  The win completed SAGU’s best regular season in history. SAGU finished the regular season 8-2 overall and 7-1 in Central States Football League play.

It was the Lions defense that put points on the scoreboard first. Sophomore defensive back Jordaan Coleman picked up a fumble forced by senior defensive back Matt Williams and ran it into the end zone.

Two minutes into the second quarter, SAGU junior Justin Allen made the score 14-0 after a two-yard touchdown run.

Next, senior running back JP Lowery had a 73-yard touchdown run for the Lions, making the score 20-0 in favor of SAGU.

Even with three touchdowns in the first half, SAGU was determined to put more points on the board. Junior quarterback CJ Collins connected with wide receiver Roderick Brown for a 48-yard touchdown pass with 1:37 left in the first half.  When Bacone began their final drive of the half, SAGU senior Matt Williams made an interception. SAGU went to the locker room ahead 26-0.

The Lions only score in the second half came from a 30-yard field goal by Tluang Hmung.

The game was plagued with penalties for both teams with over 30 flags thrown in the game. SAGU and BC battled in the fourth quarter for field position with Bacone scoring once and completing the drive with a successful two-point try to cap the scoring for both teams.

Head Football Coach Frank Tristan said, “Our guys were able to go on the road and win a college football game. It wasn’t pretty but they dug in and won the battle. I was proud of our overall composure and self-discipline.”

The SAGU football team defeated the #10 team in the NAIA, Arizona Christian University (ACU), 43-6. The Lions moved to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in Central States Football League (CSFL) play. This is the first time that ACU lost in conference play since joining the CSFL in 2015.

The SAGU defense was able to jumpstart the game by recovering an ACU fumble in the red zone after a long drive by ACU. SAGU took over and scored on their first drive of the game with a JP Lowery 2-yard touchdown run to cap their drive. After the initial SAGU score, the two teams battled back and forth defensively until the 13:49 mark in the 2nd quarter when junior quarterback CJ Collins hit Justin Allen for a 76 yard touchdown pass.

SAGU scored two more times in the first half, both coming on passes from CJ Collins. Collins hit Roderick Brown with a 42-yard pass and connected with Justin Allen again; this time on a 23-yard touchdown pass.

Defensively, SAGU held ACU scoreless in the first half. Senior Matt Williams had eight tackles, Landon Jones and Coby Roach had seven tackles, Jordaan Coleman pitched in with five tackles to lead SAGU. The SAGU defense was big, forcing two fumbles and two interceptions on the Firestorm. Senior Carl Morgan and freshman Michael Mast each had an interception.

The SAGU offense garnered 503 total yards today, 206 on the ground and 297 in the air. CJ Collins was 18 of 25 on pass attempts and accounted for three touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Justin Allen had a big day for Lions. Allen had six catches going for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Senior running backs JP Lowery and Ricky Bickham rushed for 98 and 88 yards, respectively.

Tluang Hmung had four extra points and made three field goals with a long of 36 yards coming at the end of the 3rd quarter.

The win over ACU was something the Lions have worked hard for. Senior offensive lineman Devo McNeal explained the team’s emotions after the game, “This was a huge win for the SAGU football program. This week our coaches prepared us for this game and got us ready to play to our full potential. The offense executed well today and our defense played fast and forced some big turnovers.”

SAGU Head Coach Frank Tristan was pleased with his ball club after the game and knows the significance of a win of this nature for the program, “Our guys played well in all phases today. Offensively, we executed. Special teams paid great attention to detail, and defensively, we did not give up the big play. I am extremely proud of our seniors today and the leadership they provided. CJ (Collins) was really accurate today, and Justin Allen came up big for us.”

SAGU football team remains one of two teams still undefeated in the Central States Football League (CSFL) after a 29-21 defeat of Oklahoma Panhandle State University (OPSU). SAGU is now 6-1 for the season and 5-0 in CSFL action.

“A conference road game is always difficult, especially at Oklahoma Panhandle. It was a great win for our team and our program. They were really physical and I was proud of the way our guys competed the whole game,” says SAGU Head Coach Frank Tristan.

SAGU, OPSU and Langston were all undefeated and locked in a three-way tie going into Saturday. Langston beat Arizona Christian University 21-20, making Langston and SAGU tied for first place in the CSFL standings.

The Lions would strike first with a 33-yard field goal by Tluang Hmung with 8:28 left to play in the first to give the Lions a 3-0 lead. OPSU countered with a touchdown on a 24-yard pass but would miss the extra point, giving them the lead 6-3 with just over five minutes left to play in the first. SAGU made an impressive drive down the field to end the first quarter and would tie the game, 6-6, with a 38-yard field goal from Hmung.

In the second quarter, OPSU would take the lead off of a 48-yard touchdown pass but SAGU took very little time to respond with two touchdowns of their own. Justin Allen ran in a five-yard touchdown to tie the game, and junior quarterback CJ Collins connected with Jeremy Carr for a 25-yard touchdown pass to give SAGU the lead, 20-13 going into the half.

SAGU opened up the scoring in the second half with Collins connecting with Roderick Brown, Jr. for a 32-yard touchdown pass, giving SAGU their only offensive score in the second half. Senior defensive back Matt Williams recorded a safety on the Aggies second-half opening drive to give SAGU the lead 29-13 lead but OPSU would find the end zone one more time in the game with two seconds left in the 3rd quarter (29-21). That score was last for either team as the defense on both sides battled in the fourth quarter.

The Lions defense came up big in the final quarter. Sophomore Jordaan Coleman recorded an interception in the red zone on what could have been a game-tying drive for OPSU. SAGU was forced to punt, and punter Maverick Montiel pinned the Aggies deep into their own territory.  Sophomore Landon Jones came with an interception for the Lions on what would prove to be the Aggies last drive.

“OPSU exposed some things with us in our fourth quarter. We were able to make adjustments and in the end, we had guys make huge plays that ended up winning the game for us,” says Tristan, “In OPSU’s last two drives Landon Jones, Jordaan Coleman and Darnell Martin stepped up in a big way and all three are sophomores.”

Offensively, SAGU was led by CJ Collins who would complete 29 of 52 passes with one interception and 295 yards of passing offense. Jeremy Carr had 10 receptions for 134 yards to lead the Lions receiving core.

Defensively, SAGU had several players with good numbers. Coby Roach had eight tackles, Matt Williams recorded seven tackles with one going for a safety, Landon Jones had eight tackles and one interception and Aiden Estrada also recorded seven tackles. Jordann Coleman had three tackles to go along with his game-saving interception in the fourth quarter.

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