OKLAHOMA CITY – Off to the best start in program history, the No. 21 Mid-America Christian men's soccer team will be aiming for its sixth straight win as the Evangels will travel to McPherson, Kan. for a 5 p.m. match against Central Christian on Saturday.
LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian (8-1, 2-0 Sooner Athletic Conference) had to battle back from an early deficit at Wayland Baptist on Tuesday. After falling behind 1-0 in the eighth minute, sophomore forward Rodrigo Albuquerque netted his fifth goal of the season on a cross from the left side by Caleb Roldan in the 38th minute to tie the match heading into the half.
In the second half, the lone score of the period came off the foot of freshman defender Fabian Forisch, who intercepted a clear in the middle just outside the goal box and fired a shot just inside the left post to record the game-winner in the 71st minute.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Central Christian will enter the weekend with a 4-4 record and an 0-1 mark in SAC play. The Tigers opened conference play on Tuesday at John Brown, falling by a score of 3-0 to the Golden Eagles.
CCC will try to run its offense primarily through junior midfielders Leslie Feh and Matias Nunez. Feh leads the squad with six goals on the season while Nunez has tallied 15 points off a team-high five assists and five goals.
On the defensive side of the field, the Tigers will likely start sophomore Sebasian Herrera at goalkeeper. In six starts this season, Herrera has given up 12 goals and has made 11 saves for a .478 save percentage.
HISTORY WITH THE TIGERS
The Evangels are 4-1 all-time against Central Christian, including winning four in a row since dropping their inaugural match in 2006. In last season's match on Oct. 11, 2018, Mid-America Christian came away with a 3-1 victory at Evangel Field.
TRAILBLAZING START
With the win over Wayland Baptist on Tuesday, the Evangels reached the midway point of the season with an 8-1 record, which is the best first half to a season in the history of the program. The previous best was set last season when MACU won seven of its first eight before a loss to Science & Arts dropped them to 7-2.
FLOURISHING FORISCH
After making starts in eight of MACU's first nine matches this season, Fabian Forisch became the 13th different Evangel to score a goal during the 2019 season with his game-winner at Wayland Baptist. It was the first collegiate goal for the freshman from Germany.
POLL POSITION
Mid-America Christian is getting some major representation in several polls at the midway point. The Evangels climbed up two spots to No. 21 in the latest NAIA Division I Top 25 Poll. MACU also climbed up an additional spot in the NCCAA Top 10 Poll, moving up to No. 2 and are currently only behind Oklahoma Wesleyan for the top spot. In the first Modified Rating Per Index (RPI) released by the NAIA on Wednesday, Mid-America Christian debuted at No. 19 with an index rating of 0.63057, two spots higher than their national ranking.
