KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Oklahoma Panhandle State men's soccer team (2-1-1) scored the game winner on a penalty kick in the 61st minute of a 2-1 victory over Avila University (1-3-0) on the road late Wednesday afternoon.
 
The win matches the Aggies' victory total from a season ago, and it came in convincing fashion as head coach Gabriel Gonzalez' squad outshot the Eagles, 17-4.
 
OPSU wasted little time asserting itself Wednesday, as the visitors quickly flipped the field in the fifth minute with an intercepted pass. Upon gaining possession near midfield, Til Vaupel booted the ball ahead to Othman Gherab, who dribbled his way from the left sideline towards the net, skillfully sidestepped a defender and fired a shot for the goal, his first with the Aggies.
 
Despite Panhandle State tallying seven more shots than the Eagles across the opening 45 minutes, the score remained 1-0 at the half.
 
The hosts appeared to catch a break in the 57th minute when they were awarded a penalty kick and converted for the equalizer.
 
As fate would have it, a foul on Avila deep in the box just four minutes later gave Ayoup Bader and the Aggies the same penalty-kick opportunity, and Bader put it past the goalie for the game winner.
 
OPSU continued to dominate possession throughout the remainder of the match, as it did not allow the Eagles a single shot on goal outside of their lone penalty kick.
 
Aron Kanyai and Olai Caicoya each saw action between the posts during the victory, benefitting from the Aggies' ball control.
 
Bader, whose goal was his second of the 2025 campaign, tallied a match-high six shots, three of which were on target. Calum Murphy also contributed on the attack with three shots (two on goal).
 
What's up next: Panhandle State has a chance to best its win total from 2024 when it returns to Anchor D Stadium on Saturday to face Hesston College (1-3-0).