The Mid-America Christian Evangels welcome back 14 returners from last year's squad in hopes of continuing to climb the ladder of the competitive Sooner Athletic Conference of the NAIA. The Evangels will return nearly 60 percent of their scoring and 85 percent of their assist total from last season. With so much experience and production coming back, coupled with the fact that half of the Evangels 10 losses last year were by one goal, co-head coaches Zach Bice and Evan Dresel believe the opportunity is there to make significant strides this season.

"We are very excited about the team we have coming in this year because last season's team was one of the best teams we've had to date, but it was also the most unlucky team we've ever been a part of," Dresel said. "Last year's squad set the foundation for where we plan to take this team from here on out. It was a team built on hard work and commitment and we look to advance those values even further this season. One area we will definitely need to improve will be our goal scoring prowess. This was an area we struggled in tremendously last season. We return players with goal scoring potential and bring in players with the ability to put the ball in the back of the net. We also return a good number of players with the ability to set up goal scoring opportunities."

The Evangels will try to pick up where they left off in 2010, in which they won two of their final three matches, including a 2-0 shutout win over a solid Rogers State squad and a 6-0 rout of Southwestern Assemblies of God in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Central Regional quarterfinals. The 6-0 win avenged a 3-1 loss to SAGU in the season opener.

Junior Zane Bourne will enter the season as the only returning goalkeeper after serving as a backup to Austin Custar in the net for the past two seasons. The Evangels still hope to sign at least one more keeper to compete with Bourne and provide depth at the position.

 

Senior Jeremiah Huff and sophomore Benny Olvera will be counted on heavily to provide scoring punch this season. Huff tied for the team lead last season with 14 points on six goals and two assists, while Olvera scored twice along with one assist. Fellow senior Abeni Yosef is back after appearing in 14 matches last year and scoring one goal. The Evangels also return a trio of juniors at the midfield spot in Willy Deleon, Brett Brown and Daniel Gallegos. Deleon scored a goal and dished out a pair of assists, while Brown added a goal with an assist and Gallegos scored one goal last season.

"Daniel is an exceptional holding midfielder who controls the pace and the rhythm for which we play," Dresel said. "He is great in possession and has tremendous vision. Willy Deleon is more of an attack minded midfielder with the ability to set players up but also shoot from distance. As these two players go we will go."

Sophomore Ricardo Ulloah and freshman Michael Johns should also be in the mix for playing time.

With four freshmen out of the seven listed on the roster, forward is shaping up to be the most inexperienced spot on the roster. But that doesn't mean the cupboard is bare, as the Evangels welcome in talented freshmen Brian Armstrong, Andy Mendoza, Abel Renteria and Adam Wagner into the program. The Evangels also return senior Gabriel Gonzalez and juniors Arturo Alcala and Duncan Mbugua. Gonzalez contributed one goal and one assist and Alcala scored two goals and dished out a pair of assists. Mbugua also played in 13 matches last year.

Two-time All-Conference performer Andrew Webster returns to anchor the defensive unit this season. In addition to being a key cog on the defensive side, Webster also contributed two assists last year. Senior John Gonsalves and sophomore Javier Hernandez also return after Gonsalves appeared in every match last season and Hernandez played in 14 matches and scored one goal.

"Andrew is more of a finesse center back who is great in the air and a great overall leader from the back," Dresel said. "John comes in for his senior season and has started all three years, so he brings in a wealth of experience and understanding of the college game. He is our rock that we count on to do the dirty work in the back like winning tough tackles and balls in the air."

For the second straight season, the Evangels will open the season against Southwestern Assemblies of God in what will be a rematch of the NCCAA Central Regional quarterfinal matchup. The home opener will take place Sept. 6 against Southwestern Christian and the Evangels will kick off conference action at home against Oklahoma Baptist on Sept. 27. Prior to that, the Evangels will compete in a pair of matches in Austin, Texas at host Huston-Tillotson and also against Our Lady of the Lake. They will also be on the road for two non-conference matches at and Southwestern (Kan.) and McPherson (Kan.).

"As always the schedule will be very difficult and our non-conference matches will all be challenging," Dresel said. "We look for these matches to give us preparation for the always tough SAC schedule. All the teams in our conference are formidable and every game means something. We will be prepared for this season and we look forward to proving what we can do."