ENID —



With a chance to advance to the playoffs with a win over Bixby on Senior Night Tuesday night at D. Bruce Selby Stadium, the Enid boys soccer team (6-7, 3-4) came up short in a 2-1 loss that ended the season for the Plainsmen.

The Enid girls ended their season with a 2-0 loss to the Lady Spartans.

With the score knotted at 1-1 with 16:25 to play, Bixby , who had trouble with corner kicks most of the night, found the range late as Taylor Blevins knocked home a 15-yard shot that ultimately proved to be the game winner.

“It was a heartbreaker,” Enid coach Craig Liddell said. “The boys did everything we asked of them. We had some guys banged up, but they stepped up and played with the knocks.

“We played some great soccer against a strong Bixby team tonight.”

in the opening 18 minutes of the game, Bixby dominated and kept Enid on their heels offensively as Plainsmen goalkeeper Victor Hernandez  denied Bixby the net, including a diving save with 29:27 on the clock.

At the 20:56 mark of the first half, Enid missed an opportunity to score, but the momentum shifted to the Plainsmen and they responded, stopping any Spartans threat until 10:19 before intermission.

The Spartans took a shot on goal by Austin Sides and Enid defender Martin Gomez was in the box for the stop, but as he tried to volley the ball back upfield, his kick inadvertently went into the Enid net for a 1-0 Bixby edge it held until halftime.

Having missed some opportunities late in the first half, the Plainsmen came out for the second half and made amends, scoring on a Oscar Ruvalcaba breakaway kick that found the left corner of the Spartans’ net for a 1-1 tie.

The Plainsmen defense continued to play stout defense for the remainder of the rough-and-tumble game, but couldn’t find the net on several attempts, including a shot the hit the right goal post, as Bixby held on for the win and a trip to the postseason.

“They dominated for 15 minutes but we turned it and played Enid soccer the rest of the way,” Liddell said. “We had our opportunities and we should have been the winners.

“I told the guys to keep their heads up because they are winners in my book.

“I am very proud of them. We are disappointed we aren’t going to the playoffs. We feel like we are a playoff caliber team. We challenged them in July to come together as a team and they did that.

BIXBY 2, ENID 0 (G)

In the girls game, Bixby scored early and held the Pacers (5-8, 1-6) at bay to win 2-0. In the second half, Enid didn’t get its first shot on goal until  three minutes were  left in the game.

Tatum Wagoner and Ainsly Wolfinbarger scored the Bixby goals.

“The girls are moving in the right direction,” Liddell said. “We are starting to see a girls’ soccer culture emerging just as we did with the boys. I was very proud of their effort tonight.”