Thomas’ Game-Winner Sends No. 5 Baker to Heart Semifinals

OLATHE, Kan. - A second-half goal by Jacob Thomas helped launch No. 5 Baker to the conference semifinals as the Wildcats topped No. 4 MidAmerica Nazarene, 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Heart Men's Soccer Conference Tournament, presented by WinWon, here Wednesday afternoon.

Javaughn Barrett put the Wildcats on the board first with a goal in the first 15 minutes of action before the Pioneers tied the match just two minutes later. The score would remain that way until Thomas' game-winner in the 64th minute proved to be the difference maker in the quarterfinals clash.

"It was an incredible team effort today," said BU head coach Nick Aguilar. "It took a lot of character from our guys facing one of the best teams in the country at their place. We were able to get the game-winning goal off of our pressure and it was a great job by Jacob (Thomas) to clean up that shot and put one in for us. We had some times where we'd bend a little bit, but credit to our defense and Christian (Villegas) for putting in a full team effort defensively."

The match featured plenty of chances for both sides with the two teams combining for 28 total shots with BU holding a 15-13 advantage. MNU had a 4-3 edge in corner kicks with all four of theirs coming in the second half.

A free kick in their attacking half led to the Wildcats' game-opening goal with Reilly Marlow-Jones' entry being initially headed out by the MNU defense, but the ball landed at the feet of Barrett, who fired in the rebound from straightaway to put BU on top, 1-0.

It was the first goal of the year for the Jamaican midfielder who has played in all but two games this season for BU.

The Wildcats would hold the advantage for less than 90 seconds before the Pioneers tied the match with a goal in the 16th minute, snapping Baker's two-match shutout streak.

After the early scoring, both teams settled into the match with BU sending up four shots before halftime while MNU had a pair of shots go towards goal that were saved by Wildcats keeper Christian Villegas and the BU defense.

In the second half, the Pioneers had a couple of close opportunities come after the restart, including a shot that clanged off the crossbar 11 minutes into the half.

Then, in the 64th minute, a wayward kick from the MNU backline allowed Marlow-Jones to try a long-distance shot that ricocheted off the crossbar. Thomas was able to corral the carom and blast in a left-footed strike to put Baker back in front again with just over 25 minutes left to play.

In the 75th minute, MNU earned a string of three consecutive corner kicks, but the Wildcats defense repelled all three set pieces with the Pioneers able to only get one shot off.

With the final 30 seconds ticking off, Villegas came through with one more big save for BU as he was able to smother a ping-ponging ball that was sent forward to seal Baker's first win in the conference tournament since 2019.

Wednesday's match marked the third time in the past four seasons that the two clubs have faced each other in the Heart Quarterfinals with MNU coming out on top in the previous two matches.

The Wildcats advance to the Heart Semifinals for the first time since the 2019 team reached the semifinals as well. That year, BU went on to make a run in the NAIA Tournament, eventually falling to No. 2 Columbia in double overtime in the second round.

Awaiting the results of the Wednesday night matches, Baker will face the winner between top-seed Missouri Valley and No. 8 Park in the Heart Semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 9.

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