OKLAHOMA CITY - Tuesday afternoon's match against NAIA #18 Southwestern Christian University presented the Mid-America Christian University men's soccer team with an opportunity to sieze control of the race for the second seed in the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament, and a victory would also keep the Evangels' SAC title hopes alive.
Unfortunately for the Evangels, a couple of key plays went against them, and the match result also went the way of SCU.
The Eagles (13-2-1, 5-1-1 SAC) scored on their first shot of the match, and they added a late penalty kick goal for insurance, as MACU (10-4, 5-3 SAC) fell at home for the just second time this season by a score of 2-0.
Just one minute into the match, the Eagles drew first blood. Matheus Goviea crossed a ball from the wing into the box, and Juan Pebacini headed it just out of the reach of Liam Ward's left hand, and SCU took a 1-0 lead. The match took on a physical tone from the beginning, but the Evangels held in and generated chances, but they were unable to cash them in, and at the half, MACU trailed 1-0.
In the second half, MACU continued to press forward, but they had trouble converting their field position into chances. In the 58th minute, Simon Van Rheeden had a great opportunity from the top of the box, but his shot was answered by a diving save from Milos Milovic, and in the 78th minute, Rai Ramus appeared to score for the Evangels to tie the score, but the goal was disallowed as Ramus was ruled to have been offside on the play. As MACU kept pushing forward, the Eagles took advantage to generate opportunities on the counter attack, and in the 88th minute, a bad bounce led to a handball in the box against the Evangels, and Goveia scored on the OK with a chip into the middle of the goal to give SCU an insurance tally, and the Eagles closed the game out in a 2-0 win.
Ward allowed two goals and made five saves in the loss, and Milovic made three saves in the shutout victory.
MACU will wrap up their 2018 regular season on Friday with a Senior Day matchup against Oklahoma City University (9-3, 4-2 SAC). MACU has been eliminated from SAC title contention, but the Evangels remain very much alive for a home match in the opening round of the SAC tournament. The Evangels can clinch a home match in the SAC quarterfinals with a win over Oklahoma City, and with help, the Evangels could still rise as high as second in the final standings.
