OKLAHOMA CITY – Entering play on Friday afternoon, the Mid-America Christian University men's soccer team had never beaten the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma on the field. The Evangels were badly out-shot in the match on Friday, but a tremendous day from their goalkeeper, and a timely conversion on a penalty kick proved to be enough to end that streak.
MACU (11-4-1, 5-3-1 SAC) managed only four shots in the match, but junior forward Dominik Tajak made one of the four count, and the Evangels made it stand up, as they defeated USAO (11-5-1, 6-3 SAC) 1-0 on a brisk afternoon at Evangel Field.
The Evangels had the wind at their backs early in the match, and the Evangels nearly struck first in the seventh minute. Tajak got possession of the ball in the middle of the penalty area during a scramble, but his shot was saved off the line by the USAO defense, and the match remained scoreless. In the 38th minute, MACU defender Simon Wieschemann was whistled for a foul in the box, and USAO lined up for the PK, but the shot from Llewellyn Evans was denied by Jakob O'Meara-Gill. That proved to be the last shot of the half, and at intermission, the match remained scoreless.
USAO got the wind at their backs to begin the second half, and they got a pair of early chances. Juan Lucas had two chances to put his team on top in front of a mostly open goal, but he missed both shots high. In the 62nd minute, Tajak missed a shot just inches wide of the post, but he got another chance just eight minutes later. Tajak received a beautiful pass, and as he went around USAO netminder George Connolly, Connolly had no choice but to take him down in the box, and it gave Tajak the chance at his second penalty kick of the year. Dominik lined it up and rifled a shot into the low left-hand corner of the net just beyond the outstretched finger tips of Connolly, and with just over 20 minutes to play, the Evangels took the 1-0 lead.
USAO pressed forward for the remaining 20 minutes, threatening consistently, but the MACU defense limited the Drovers to just one shot in the final moments. That came in the 85th minute, when Joey Shepard took a shot and O'Meara-Gill had to be sharp to make the save to preserve the lead. Over the final five minutes, the Evangels frustrated attempts by the Drovers to penetrate into dangerous areas, and the Evangels claimed the shutout victory, 1-0.
O'Meara-Gill (10-2-1) made five saves in picking up his seventh clean sheet of the season – a mark that set a new MACU program record for shutouts in a season. Connolly (4-1) did not make a save in the loss.
The win keeps MACU's hopes of earning a home match in the SAC Quarterfinals alive. If the Evangels can earn a victory in their final match of the season on Tuesday against Texas Wesleyan University, they would be able to secure a home match with a loss or a tie from USAO against John Brown University. The SAC Quarterfinals are on Saturday, November 4.
The Evangels will face the Texas Wesleyan Rams (4-9-1, 2-5-1 SAC) on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
