OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian men's soccer team is preparing to host Southwestern Christian in the NCCAA Central Region Championship at 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22 at Evangel Field. The winner of the championship tilt will receive an automatic bid to the NCCAA National Championships being played at the Austin-Tindall Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Fla. from Dec. 2-7.
LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian (15-3-1) had its Sooner Athletic Conference championship bid dashed by Science & Arts in the SAC Semifinal as the Evangels fell 4-3 to the Drovers. MACU fought its way back from a three-goal deficit in the second half, as a 54th minute goal by Fabian Forisch and Rodrigo Albuquerque's second goal of the match in the 69th minute closed the gap to one with just over 20 minutes to go. However, the Evangels wouldn't be able to get another strong look at an equalizer as USAO advanced to the SAC Championship match.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Southwestern Christian enters the championship match with a 9-8-2 record and finished fifth in the Sooner Athletic Conference with a 5-4 conference mark. The Eagles advanced to the NCCAA Central Region Championship in dramatic fashion on Monday, as the two teams had to go to penalty kicks after playing 110 minutes of scoreless soccer. In PKs, the Eagles were able to survive with a 3-1 advantage in the shootout as SCU keeper Gerard Espinalt made a couple of crucial saves in the shootout to advance the Eagles to their seventh consecutive regional championship match.
The Eagles enter Friday's match averaging just 1.67 goals per game, ranking sixth out of 10 teams in the SAC and have scored more than three goals just once all season with a 4-0 victory over Randall on Oct. 30.
SCU's scoring balance is quite evenly spread, as its goal-scoring leader is Victor Arias with five goals on 29 shots. In goal, Espinalt is the Eagles primary keeper, conceding just 1.73 goals per game and has collected 57 saves for a .687 save percentage.
HISTORY WITH THE EAGLES
The Evangels will be looking to snap a four-match winless streak against Southwestern Christian as Mid-America Christian's last win over the Eagles came in a 1-0 victory at home on Oct. 29, 2016. In their previous meeting this season on Oct. 15 in Bethany, Okla., Mid-America Christian rallied from a goal down at the half to tie the game early in the second half on a Stephen Nganga goal in the 48th minute. Unfortunately for the Evangels, SCU would get the victory on a golden goal in double overtime when Oben Atak fired an unbelievable shot from the left side that sailed into the top right corner of the goal, just out of the reach of MACU goalkeeper Austen Parker to seal a 2-1 win. The Evangels and Eagles will be playing each other for the NCCAA Central Region Championship for the third time in the last seven seasons as MACU topped Southwestern Christian 2-1 in the regional title match on Nov. 23, 2013 before the Eagles got the better of the Evangels 4-3 in PKs on Nov. 27, 2017 in Bethany, Okla.
CHAMPIONSHIP BACK AT EVANGEL FIELD
The Evangels are hosting its first NCCAA Central Region Championship match since the 2013 campaign and will be seeing a familiar opponent as MACU took on Southwestern Christian in the title tilt. The 2013 regional championship was a drama-filled match as both teams scoring a goal in the final five minutes of regulation to send the match to overtime locked up at 1-1. In the second overtime period, MACU's Raphael Bonelle fired in the golden goal to propel MACU to a 2-1 victory to advance to the NCCAA National Championships.
JUGGERNAUTS ON BOTH ENDS OF THE FIELD
Not only do the Evangels feature one of the top offenses in the NCCAA, but they are also considered one of the top defenses. Mid-America Christian ranks third in the NCCAA in scoring offense at 4.05 goals per game while holding the opposition to the third-lowest goals against average at 0.89 for the second-best scoring margin in the NCCAA at 3.16. Sophomore forward Rodrigo Albuquerque has been on-fire lately for the Evangels as he is currently tied for the team-lead in goal scoring at 11, which includes five goals in the last five matches dating back to a 2-0 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Oct. 25. However, MACU will be looking to shore things up on the defensive end as the Evangels have conceded six goals in the last two matches.
SNAPPING THE STREAK
Mid-America Christian will be looking to upend Southwestern Christian's championship streak as the Eagles have won the last three NCCAA Division I National Championships. The Eagles have also received the automatic bid by winning the last three NCCAA Central Region Championships, but not without a challenge as SCU defeated both Oklahoma Baptist and Mid-America Christian in penalty kicks in 2016 and 2017 to win the region while pulling out a 1-0 victory over Central Christian in last year's regional. Southwestern Christian will be competing in its seventh consecutive NCCAA Central Championship match since 2013.
