OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian women's soccer team put together a commanding second half performance to come away with its fourth NCCAA Central Region Championship in the last six seasons, defeating Southwestern Christian 4-0 on Tuesday afternoon at Evangel Field.
With the victory, the Evangels receive an automatic berth into the NCCAA National Championship Tournament, being hosted at the Austin-Tindall Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Fla. from Dec. 2-7.
Senior midfielder Paola Camacho led the MACU scoring efforts with her first multi-goal match as a member of the Evangels, scoring the game-winning goal in the seventh minute while adding one more for good measure in the 82nd minute. MACU's season-leading scorers Liz Lozano and Kyleigh Gibson also each chipped in a second half goal to contribute to the score sheet.
Mid-America Christian (13-5-1) put together a dominant performance from kickoff to final buzzer, outshooting Southwestern Christian (6-9-2) by a 24-1 margin with a 15-0 edge in shots on-goal.
It didn't take long for the Evangels to gain control scoring the go-ahead goal just 6:38 into the match. On the play, Gibson received a nice pass on the right side of the box from Lozano, firing an open shot from 15 yards out toward the middle of the goal. SCU goalkeeper Jordan Houle made a phenomenal diving save, but Camacho crashed in on the left side of the goal to punch in the game-winner from a couple yards out.
MACU had another strong chance to add to it just minutes later when Lozano broke away down the middle, but she was unable to slide a shot past the SCU keeper coming out to the point of attack, putting a foot on the MACU midfielder's attempt toward the left corner to clear the Evangels threat.
Despite controlling the possession for the entire half, MACU struggled to get looks against a tough Eagles back line. The Evangels only had one more strong scoring opportunity in the 35th minute, but Lozano's attempt from 10 yards out on the right side was easily controlled by Houle in the middle.
Even though the Eagles struggled on the offensive end, the defense continued to hold off the Mid-America Christian attack until the Evangels were finally able to add some insurance in the 68th minute.
With 22:38 remaining, Kelsey Henry found Ariadna Ramirez from midfield to center, as she dished a pass through the defense to a streaking Gibson through the middle of the box. The redshirt freshman forward beat the defense, tracked down the outlet and slipped a shot into the right corner, getting it just past the keeper coming out to stop at the point of attack to make it a 2-nil MACU advantage.
Camacho added to the offensive onslught with just under nine minutes remaining when a Brooklyn Fink throw-in bounced off the head of an SCU defender on the right side of the box to the senior mid crashing in on the left side. Camacho was able to get a boot on the loose ball on the left side, putting a well-placed shot just inside the left post from six yards out, extending the Evangels edge to three.
After having so many close opportunities just miss, Lozano was finally able to cash in with 6:02 left when she tracked down a failed clear into the middle of the box. Lozano was able to dribble around, reposition and fire in a great ball just inside the left post and out of the reach of a diving Houle to close out the MACU scoring.
With the win, Mid-America Christian will now return to the NCCAA National Championship Tournament for the first time since 2017. The last time the Evangels won the regional, they took down Southwestern Assemblies of God 1-0 at Evangel Field on Nov. 18, 2017.
The four goals scored by the Evangels is the most MACU has ever notched in an NCCAA Central Region title match and the four-goal margin of victory is the largest since topping Colorado Christian 2-0 in the 2014 NCCAA Central Region title tilt.
The Evangels will now join Cedarville University, Erskine College, Ottawa University of Arizona and Ecclesia College, who have all earned automatic berths to the NCCAA National Championships by winning their respective regions.
The nine-team NCCAA Championship field will be set on Nov. 23 after the conclusion of regional play.
