OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Panhandle State men's soccer team (6-6-5) concluded its season in the SAC Quarterfinals on Tuesday evening as it fell 5-1 to top-seeded Oklahoma City (12-3-4).
 
The 2025 campaign under first-year coach Gabriel Gonzalez marked the Aggies' best since 2021, and the team broke a streak of two seasons missing the SAC Tournament.
 
OPSU burst out of the gates Tuesday evening when Othman Gherab received a touch from straight on, 15 yards out and fired a right-footed beauty past the OCU goalkeeper in the fifth minute.
 
The goal, which gave the underdog-Aggies a 1-0 lead, was wonderfully set up beginning with a deep through ball down the left side from Zusipheyena Gxarisa to Ayoup Bader. Bader crossed to Til Vaupel on the right side of the pitch, where Vaupel one-touched the ball to Gherab. The score marked Gherab's sixth this season, tying him for the team lead with Bader, while Bader and Vaupel both earned assists.
 
OCU answered quickly on a penalty-kick opportunity, and it got the game-winning goal just before halftime when a mid-distance strike was sent past a crowd of Aggies into the net.
 
The Stars scored again in the 58th minute on a cross that was headed in by the team's second-leading scorer, Francisco Miguel, to give them a 3-1 advantage.
 
Oklahoma City tallied a back-breaking goal a minute later as it burned OPSU's aggressive last line of defense, and it tacked one more by match's end.
 
Panhandle State's attack kept pushing over the final 25 minutes, including generating a golden opportunity for Gherab that was waved off due to a close offsides call from the officials. Calum Murphy also had a chance late, using marvelous footwork in the box to create separation for a shot that just missed the upper left corner of the goal.
 
Olai Caicoya made three saves in the match, as he ended his career with 93 stops for the Aggies.
 
What's up next: OPSU looks to use the 2025 season as a launching pad for the program, though the Aggies will have their work cut out for them with the expected graduations of their top goal scorers, Bader and Gherab, starting goalkeepers, Caicoya and Aron Kanyai, and oft-starting defenders, Gxarisa and Martin Ponce. An abundance of talented freshmen and underclassmen could return for Gonzalez' squad, however, many of whom have already logged heavy minutes and shown the ability to contribute for OPSU at a high level.