OKLAHOMA CITY – After closing out non-conference play in style on Tuesday, the No. 20 Mid-America Christian men's soccer team will be returning to Sooner Athletic Conference play on Saturday for a 3 p.m. home match against Southwestern Assemblies of God.
LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian (10-1, 3-0 SAC) wrapped up non-conference play with a record-setting performance in a 24-0 victory over Bacone College on Tuesday. Allan Sorato led 12 different Evangels into the scoring column, tallying program records with five goals and 11 points in the win. Pero Mikulic recorded the second-most goals in a single match in MACU history with four off the bench while Simon Van Rheeden tallied three goals and three assists and Michael Reyna recorded a hat trick with three goals in his first match of the season.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
Southwestern Assemblies of God enters the match with a 1-9-1 record, including a 1-2 mark in SAC play. Despite having just one win on the season, the Lions have played tough the last week, dropping a 3-2 two overtime thriller last Saturday at Southwestern Christian before falling in another overtime match 2-1 match to Wayland Baptist on Tuesday.
SAGU has struggled on the offensive end of the field during the 2019 season, scoring just nine goals in the first 10 matches. Despite the offensive struggles, the Lions have a major scoring threat in forward Mazhiva Chidarara. The Zimbabwe product has scored seven of the nine Lions goals, four of which coming in the last four matches.
The likely starter in goal for SACU will by Tyler Drake, who has appeared in three matches and has made the Lions last two starts. Drake has given up eight goals and made 17 saves for a .680 save percentage.
HISTORY WITH THE LIONS
MACU holds an 8-5 edge over SAGU in the all-time series, but the Evangels will look to avenge a loss to the Lions last season. The last time they met on Oct. 16, 2018, SAGU upset the Evangels by a score of 1-0 at Evangel Field. However, MACU will be hoping a trend will continue as the Lions have never beaten the Evangels in back-to-back seasons.
RECORD ROMP
The 2019 season as a whole has been filled to the brim with record-setting performances. After the completion of the Bacone match and with six matches remaining in the regular season, here is the list of MACU program records that have been broken or on-pace to be broken this season.
· Team Goal Scoring (Season) – After picking up the victory over Bacone, the 2019 MACU men's soccer team eclipsed the program's team scoring record. The Evangels have scored 60 goals in the first 11 matches, surpassing the previous record of 53 set in 2017. MACU currently ranks second in the NAIA in both total goals scored and goals per match (5.45).
· Team Assists (Season) – With 50 assists on MACU's 60 goals, the Evangels have already surpassed the program's season assist record of 39 that was also set in 2017. MACU currently ranks third in the NAIA for total assists and assists per game (4.45).
· Best Goals Against Average (Season) – The MACU goalkeeping and defensive back line has been phenomenal, limiting opponents to just 0.64 goals per match after giving up seven goals in 11 matches. The Evangels are on-pace to surpass last year's program record of a 1.15 goals against average.
· Most Shots Per Game (Season) – Mid-America Christian has taken 203 shots at an 18.5 shots per game clip. If the Evangels keep pace, they will surpass the program record of 17.7 set during the 2012 campaign.
· Fewest Shots Allowed Per Game (Season) – The Evangels defensive backfield has frustrated the opposing attack all season, limiting the opposition to just 83 shots for a 7.5 per game average. It is a rate that is on-pace to eclipse the 2017 program record of nine shots allowed per game.
· Team Goals Scored (Game) – With 24 goals against Bacone on Tuesday, the Evangels shattered the previous program record of 12 set last season in a 12-1 victory over Dallas Christian on Sept. 18, 2018.
· Team Assists (Game) – The Evangels dished out 23 assists in the win over the Warriors, surpassing the previous record of seven set in that same matchup against Dallas Christian.
· Team Most Shots Taken (Game) – Against Bacone, MACU attempted 56 shots, breaking the previous program record of 39 set against Texas College on Sept. 17, 2015.
· Team Most Shots On-Goal (Game) – Of the Evangels' 56 shots, 44 were placed on-goal, breaking the previous school record of 23 that was set in that same Texas College match and then tied again on Sept. 2, 2017 against Southwestern College.
· Fewest Shots Allowed (Game) – MACU also set the program record against Bacone on the defensive end, not allowing the Warriors to take a single shot.
· Individual Goals Scored (Game) – Allan Sorato's five goals against the Warriors surpassed the previous record that was a seven-way tie with three. The most recent three-goal effort came from Seth Lidell against Bacone last season.
· Individual Points (Game) – Sorato's 11 points also broke the previous record of seven held by current teammate Dominik Tajak that was set during the 2017 season.
· Individual Assists (Game) – With four assists against Bacone, Josue Alanis moved into first place in the MACU record books, topping the previous record of three held by Donte Roberti and Simon Van Rheeden.
