ARKADELPHIA- The overall talent of Ouachita Baptist was on display in a 4-2 victory over Central Baptist in a non-conference men’s soccer matchup on Tuesday in Arkadelphia.
Ouachita (9-5-1) has benefitted from the efforts of the top two scorers in the Gulf South Conference in sophomores Rizvan Ceka and Sergiu Postolache and both played a large role in the outcome over Central Baptist.
The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the first half when Postolache scored on an assist from sophomore Andrew Davis at 26:59. Ceka then added his GSC-best 10th goal of the season with a header on a left cross pass from sophomore teammates Clayton Case and Payam Pourjavad to send Ouachita into half with a 2-0 advantage.
In the second half, Ouachita senior John Mark Tohlen scored the first collegiate goal of his career on a penalty kick, giving the Tigers a 3-0 advantage.
Central Baptist would follow with a pair of goals from Sabelo Hlongwane and TJ Rodriguez to close the gap to 3-2 at 71:02.
Within 30 seconds of the second goal by the Mustangs, Postolache put the game on ice with his second goal of the match and eighth goal of the season with a rebound shot off the keeper to an empty net. On the assist were Ceka and Pourjavad.
Splitting time at keeper for Ouachita were sophomore Jonathan Kauffman with two saves and a shutout performance in the opening 45 minutes, while freshman Wayne Smith also played 45 minutes, allowing a pair of goals and recording two saves. Central Baptist led in shots, 13-11.
Ouachita returns to the field on Oct. 29 against Harding in a GSC matchup in Searcy at 7 p.m.
