OKLAHOMA CITY – For the first 45 minutes on Tuesday afternoon, the Mid-America Christian University women's soccer team frustrated nearly every chance generated by the NAIA #5 John Brown University Golden Eagles. The Evangels had a chance to take the early lead, and even when that went by the boards, the defense for MACU kept the Evangels in the game.
In the second half, however, the depth of the Golden Eagles took control, and the Evangels yielded a flurry of late tallies.
Jennifer Starwalt made six first half saves, helping MACU (3-4, 0-1 SAC) limit JBU (8-1, 1-0 SAC) to just a single first half tally, but the Golden Eagles kept coming in waves, and JBU took the win, 6-0.
Mid-America had three shots on goal in the opening seven minutes, including a pair of dangerous chances from Liz Lozano and Allyson Pamplin, but JBU goalkeeper Caitlyn Logan was able to turn both away, and in the 24th minute, JBU drew first blood. MACU turned the ball over in the midfield, and Alair Love brought the ball in and lofted a shot over Starwalt and into the upper corner of the net to give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead.
As the half wore on, JBU took territorial control, but the defense of the Evangels – led by Starwalt – kept the ball out of the net. Starwalt made three saves after the Golden Eagles took the lead in the first half, and the Evangels battled to keep the margin at 1-0 heading into halftime.
The second half, however, was all JBU. The Golden Eagles held MACU without a shot for the first 21 minutes, scoring three times in that span, and they added two more goals late, as JBU took the win 5-0.
Logan (8-1) earned the win in goal, making three saves, and Starwalt (2-4) did her best to keep her team in it, making a total of 10 saves in the match.
MACU will be back in action on Saturday afternoon when they host the Pioneers of Wayland Baptist University (6-2-1, 1-0 SAC). Kickoff is scheduled for Noon.
