OKLAHOMA CITY – The 2017-18 academic year got off to a strong start for the Mid-America Christian University fall teams, and that strong start set the tone for what became the most successful season for MACU since joining the NAIA in 2008. Two of the four MACU fall teams made trips to the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Tournament, and the other two had strong moments as well.
The home season got underway on August 29th in a huge way. Allyson Pamplin notched a hat trick for MACU's women's soccer team as a part of a 14-goal outburst for the Lady Evangels against Manhattan Christian College. The Lady Evangels' offense scored six goals or more on five occasions during the season, as MACU set single game and single season records for goals, assists, and points.
The season took an abrupt turn on September 15th in the 30th minute of MACU's game against Houston-Victoria. With ahead 2-0, goalkeeper Madison Donihoo suffered a season ending injury, and freshman Jennifer Starwalt entered the lineup with only the second half of the season opener against Manhattan Christian under her belt. She posted a 10-8 record during the season, playing the final 1602:21 of the season with no safety net behind her. She posted a Goals Against Average of 1.53 and a .774 Save Percentage with 96 saves and six shutouts in her freshman campaign.
One of the highlights of the season came in the NCCAA Central Region semifinal match. The Lady Evangels and Colorado Christian University Cougars played 100 minutes of scoreless soccer, but in the second overtime, Stephens took a pass from Pamplin and broke down the right wing, firing in a shot that gave MACU the 1-0 win. The play was voted the MACU Play of the Year in the annual MAACS awards ceremony. The Lady Evangels went on to defeat Southwestern Assemblies of God University for the NCCAA Region Title two days later, earning their third trip to the NCCAA National Tournament in four years.
For the second season in a row, Brittney Stephens doubled her previous season's goal total, netting a MACU season record 20 tallies and 45 points. She also had seven game-winning goals during the season.
MACU saw four players earn spots on the All-Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) second team – forward Brittney Stephens, midfielders Alissa Tapp and Kierra Morgan, and defender Casey Riley. Stephens, Tapp, and Riley were also named First Team All-NCCAA Central Region, and Morgan earned Second Team All-Region Honors along with teammates Allyson Pamplin and Jennifer Starwalt. Stephens was named a Second Team NCCAA All-American, Riley and Tapp were honored on the NCCAA's All-America Third Team, and Kelsey Janko was selected as all NCCAA Tournament. Janko, Madison Donihoo, and Keanni Barnes were named to the SAC All-Academic Team.
The MACU men's soccer season took on a similar track, but the Evangels success on the men's side was unprecedented in MACU history. MACU opened the season with a program best five straight victories, and in that stretch, MACU out-scored their opponents 18-3. Perhaps the most impressive part of that winning streak is that four of those five victories came away from home, and the stretch set the tone for the season. MACU set a program record with 13 victories during the campaign, one of numerous program records to fall during the season.
Perhaps the best highlight of the season came in the SAC Tournament quarterfinals. Less than a week after picking up their first on-field victory over their SAC rivals at the University of Science & Arts or Oklahoma, the Evangels hit the road for a postseason showdown against the Drovers in nearby Chickasha, Oklahoma. Brad Bennions scored in the 34th minute to give MACU the 1-0 lead, but USAO drew level in the 60th minute and the match proceeded into overtime. MACU goalkeeper Jakob O'Meara-Gill made four saves in the two overtime periods, and the match headed to a penalty shootout, where the Evangels connected on their first four shots, and O'Meara-Gill saved the third shot from USAO, setting up a dramatic finish. USAO's Llewellyn Evans stepped to the spot for USAO's fourth shot, needing to score to keep the game alive, but O'Meara-Gill made a diving save to put MACU into the SAC Semifinal round and sent the partisan USAO crown home stunned.
MACU picked up a victory in the NCCAA Regional semifinal against McMurry University to send them to the Regional Championship match against Southwestern Christian University, and though the Eagles claimed the Region title in a shootout, the Evangels earned an at-large berth to the NCCAA National Tournament.
The Evangels' offense was led by SAC Offensive Player of the Year Dominik Tajak, who set MACU single season records for goals (23) and points (49). Tajak was also named the SAC Newcomer of the Year, and he earned a place on the All-SAC First Team. Tajak and O'Meara-Gill were named to the All-Region First Team in the NCCAA, and they were joined there by their teammates Oliver May (MF) and Simon Wieschemann (D). Tajak earned Region Player of the Year honors as well. Bennions, Andres Ochoa, and Giovanni Sosa were named Second Team All-Region.
Tajak was named a First Team NCCAA All-American, and he earned All-America Honors from the United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) and the NAIA (Honorable Mention). Brad Bennions was named to the All-Tournament team for the NCCAA National Tournament as well.
O'Meara-Gill made MACU history in a different way as well. The senior goalkeeper became the first player in MACU history – regardless of sport – to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America® First Team honors, and he was just the fifth in MACU history to be honored on any Academic All-America® team. He earned the honor by posting a 12-5-3 record in goal with a 0.93 GAA and a .773 Save Percentage. He also posted a program record eight shutouts during the season. In the classroom, he posted a 4.0 GPA as an MBA student, graduating with honors in December of 2017. The award is voted on by sports information directors from around the country and the Academic All-America® program is the only major awards program that takes into account both athletic and academic success.
O'Meara Gill and Benjamin Hutchison earned NAIA and NCCAA Scholar-Athlete Status, and Martin Mata also qualified as an NCCAA honoree. O'Meara-Gill, Hutchison, Mata, Bennions, Oscar Ochoa, and Gustavo Urbina all earned places on the SAC All-Academic Team as well.
The volleyball season started off slowly as MACU dropped seven of their first eight matches, but in the month of October, MACU turned things around on a long home stretch. The Evangels scored a four-set win over St. Gregory's University on October 6, and that ignited a five match winning streak. Unfortunately for MACU, they were unable to get back to the .500 mark and the Lady Evangels did not qualify for the NCCAA regional tournament.
As the season entered the final week, the Lady Evangels found themselves in a tight battle for the final tournament berth in the SAC, and they needed a pair of wins in their final two home matches to give themselves a chance. The first of those two matches came on October 21 against Oklahoma Panhandle State University. The Lady Evangels needed to avenge an earlier season loss to the Aggies, but after three sets, the Lady Evangels found themselves trailing two sets to one, and in need of a comeback to keep their season alive. Over the final two sets, however, two seniors combined to lead the Lady Evangels back from the brink of defeat. Breeana Fritschow posted a double-double in the match with 15 kills and 16 digs, and Laurel Church added 14 kills seven digs, and eight blocks as MACU came from behind to take a five set win over the Aggies. Five nights later, MACU closed their home slate with a win over USAO to help MACU qualify for the postseason.
Church was named second team All-SAC, as she racked up 272 points on the season. She along with Mary Seifert, Melissa Hoppal, and Jasmine Pickett were named NAIA and NCCAA Scholar-Athletes.
On the links, MACU's men's golf team scuffled at times in a very difficult fall slate, which included a pair of tournaments against fields loaded with NAIA top-25 teams. Their bright spot in the fall came in the NCCAA Central Regional Championship. At the regional, the Evangels posted their lone top-five finish of the fall season, and they posted two sub-300 rounds in the Championship. The Evangels were led in the Championship by a third place finish from Tyler Price, who posted a 2-over par total of 218, eight shots off the pace of the leader in the tournament.
The fall season set the tone for a successful year, and the record breaking pace was sustained through the winter and spring seasons as well. Those will be chronicled next week as we continue our 2017-18 Year in Review series.
