FORT WORTH, Texas – For the Mid-America Christian University women's soccer team, Friday night saw the Evangels were once again competitive against one of the best teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference. Unfortunately for MACU, with overtime imminent, Texas Wesleyan University snatched away the victory.
MACU (5-8, 1-5 SAC) was less than three minutes away from their second trip to overtime this season after the Evangels tied the score early in the second half, but the Rams (10-3-1, 5-1-1 SAC) got a second goal from Tameir Grosvenor with 2:58 left in the game to steal away the victory.
Grosvenor broke the ice in the sixth minute of the match, converting a pass from Drea Molina into her 19th goal of the season, and the Rams grabbed the early 1-0 lead. The Evangels allowed six shots to TXWU in the first half, but only two on goal, and at the intermission, MACU was trailing, but still by just the one goal.
In the 53rd minute, Liz Lozano scored her fourth goal of the season for the Evangels, an unassisted tally that drew MACU even at 1-1. MACU goalkeeper Jennifer Starwalt kept the Evangels in the game. The Rams out-shot MACU 8-1 in the second stanza, but Starwalt made four saves to keep the match tied. Less than a minute after Starwalt turned away Grosvenor for the third time in the half, Grosvenor put home her 20th tally to give Texas Wesleyan the 2-1 lead. The goal sealed the victory, and the Rams held on for a 2-1 win.
Starwalt made five saves in the match for MACU.
There was good news elsewhere for the Evangels on Friday night. The Evangels ticket was punched into the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament by way of an 8-0 win by the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma over Southwestern Assemblies of God University.
The Evangels will return home on Tuesday afternoon to open the final week of the 2018 regular season. MACU will host the Southwestern Christian University Eagles (7-6-1, 1-4 SAC) at 1 p.m. in a match that could help propel MACU to the seventh seed in the SAC tournament.
