OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian University women's soccer team entered Friday afternoon's match facing a tall task against one of the Sooner Athletic Conference's top teams. On a sunny, but cold and windy day, the Lady Evangels competed well, but they were unable to string together passes, and as a result, they found themselves on the short end of the decision.
MACU (9-5, 4-4 SAC) struggled to get into a rhythm offensively, and the NAIA #22 Drovers of the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (14-2-1, 9-0 SAC) took the win, 3-1.
USAO earned an opportunity to strike first in the 26th minute when Lindsey Daugherty was awarded a penalty kick, but MACU goalkeeper Jennifer Starwalt made the save on the PK attempt, and she did not allow a rebound, so the match remained scoreless. In the 33rd minute, however, Daugherty found the back of the net, cashing in a feed from Thais Silva to put USAO on top 1-0. Silva was the beneficiary of a friendly bounce in the 41st minute, as an attempted clearance bounced off of her shins and into the goal to double the Drovers' lead, and at intermission, USAO led 2-0.
Allie Gordon got into the act for USAO in the 58th minute, scoring an unassisted tally to put her team up three, and MACU began to press in an effort to whittle away the deficit. In the 79th minute, MACU's Brittney Stephens scored her 19th goal of the season to get the Lady Evangels on the board, but that was all the offense they were able to muster, and the Drovers hung on for the 3-1 win.
Starwalt (7-4) made 10 saves in the match for the Evangels, and Morgan Wilson (7-1) made two stops in earning the victory for USAO.
MACU will wrap up their 2017 regular season on Tuesday afternoon, when they welcome the Rams of Texas Wesleyan University (11-3, 6-2 SAC) to Oklahoma City. The match will serve as the Senior Day game for MACU senior Amaris Smitherman, and it is slated to kick off at 1 p.m.
