IRVINE, Calif. - For the Mid-America Christian University men's soccer team, the postseason run was a magical ride. With each additional step, the Evangels went deeper into the NAIA postseason than they ever had before. On Tuesday night, however, MACU faced the No. 3 Seed Central Methodist University Eagles (Mo.) in the round of 16 in the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship, and the Evangels ran out of magic.
MACU (13-6-1) registered only a single shot on goal as CMU (19-2-2) stymied the Evangels in the attacking third of the field, and even with a solid defensive effort, MACU fell in the match 2-0, and the Evangels' season came to a close.
CMU took territorial control early in the first half, but the Evangels defense seemed unfazed. MACU played well positionally, and they kept the ball out of dangerous areas until the 21st minute. It was then that the Eagles took advantage of a missed clearance, as Marcos German looped a shot over the outstretched hand of MACU goalkeeper Dan McNicholas to give CMU the 1-0 lead. The Eagles continued to press forward, but MACU was able to stifle the attacks, and at the break, MACU trailed by just the single goal.
In the second stanza, MACU began to make some inroads through the Eagles defense, but they still were unable to find any shots. Junior forward Rai Ramus took a break away down the left side early in the second half, but he was unable to get in position to shoot before the Eagles recovered. Moments later, Simon Wieschemann knifed his way forward from the back line, and he did get a shot off, but he missed it high. In the 67th minute, Ramus put a free kick on goal for the Evangels' first shot on goal of the match, and in the 84th minute, Ramus sent a corner kick into the box, and Mohammadou Cisse missed a volley wide of the goal. On the ensuing counter-attack, Daniel Hernandez chipped a shot over the head of McNicholas - who got a piece of the shot - that trickled into the goal on the low left post to give CMU the 2-0 lead, and that proved to be the final tally.
Cisse had two of the six shots for the Evangels, Ramus had the lone shot on goal, and the trio of Wieschemann, Simon Van Rheedan, and Kieran Chance each had a shot as well. CMU out-shot MACU 17-6, which included a 6-1 edge in shots on goal. McNicholas (5-1-1) made four saves in the match, suffering his only loss of the season, and Vince Gelei made a single save in earning a shutout - the 16th of the season for CMU.
The loss ends the season for MACU. The 2018 campaign saw MACU equal the mark for single season victories which they set in 2017, and also the first SAC tournament and NAIA tournament wins in program history.
