OKLAHOMA CITY – On Saturday afternoon, the Mid-America Christian University women's soccer team took to the field looking to get back on track after a tough defeat earlier in the week. The Evangels drew first blood, but they were unable to hold on.
MACU (3-5, 0-2 SAC) got a goal from Brittney Stephens to open the scoring, but the lead was short lived, and in overtime, Wayland Baptist University (7-2-1, 2-0 SAC) completed the comeback to take the 2-1 victory.
Stephens' goal came in the seventh minute on what almost appeared to be a broken play. The Evangels sent a loose ball forward to Stephens, and the senior forward battled past both the last defender and goalkeeper Jennette Guia to slide a shot into the left lower corner and give MACU an early 1-0 lead.
MACU held the advantage into the 33rd minute, but on their fourth of five first half shots, the Pioneers drew even. Taylor Moore put a shot past Jennifer Starwalt to tie the match at 1-1, and that remained the score at halftime.
The second half was action packed, with the teams combining for nine shots and plenty of chances. Jennifer Starwalt made three saves in the second frame, and the Evangels also recorded a team save to keep the match tied at 1-1 and the second half expired without any further scoring. MACU got a corner kick chance in the 93rd minute, but they were unable to convert it, and in the 97th minute, Wayland Baptist ended things with a goal from Estefany Gonzalez to claim the 2-1 win.
Starwalt (3-5) made four saves in the match, and Guia (4-0) made one in the victory.
MACU will be back in action on Tuesday at NAIA #17 Science & Arts (Okla.) for a 5:30 p.m. kickoff.
