OKLAHOMA CITY – Coming off its biggest win of the season, the Mid-America Christian women's soccer team will look to carry its momentum into Tuesday's regular season finale at No. 10 John Brown slated for a 5 p.m. kickoff.
LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian (11-3-1, 6-1-1 Sooner Athletic Conference) faced Texas Wesleyan (11-5, 6-2 SAC), a team tied for second in the conference standings coming off its biggest win of the season against then seventh-ranked John Brown. In the Senior Day slate, the Evangels dominated the Lady Rams in regulation, outshooting TWU by a 19-9 edge in the first 90 minutes of play.
However, MACU had several close opportunities just miss in regulation, sending the match to an overtime period with the two teams locked in a scoreless draw. In the first overtime, it appeared MACU would get the game-winner in the 99th minute when Kyleigh Gibson's shot caromed off the hands of the diving Texas Wesleyan keeper to Paola Camacho on the left side of the goal box. Her put-back bounced off the crossbar and TWU's Christy Zwart was able to corral the loose ball to send the game to a second OT.
In the second overtime, Camacho did not miss her second chance at a golden goal, as Brooklyn Fink sent a beautiful cross from the right side to Camacho crashing in on the left side of the goal box, placing a shot off her shoulder into the top left corner to seal a 1-0 victory in the 104th minute.
With the win, not only did MACU jump ahead of Texas Wesleyan in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings, but also tied John Brown for second after the Golden Eagles registered a 1-1 draw against Southwestern Christian at home on Saturday.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
John Brown enters Tuesday night's contest with an 11-3-2 record and a 6-1-1 mark in SAC play. In their last match against Southwestern Christian, the Golden Eagles outshot the SCU 28-2 with a 13-1 edge in shots on-goal, but the Eagles made that one shot on-goal count as two teams played to a 1-1 draw.
The Golden Eagles are one of the top defensive teams in the SAC and the NAIA, ranking second in the conference with a 0.63 goals allowed average and 16th in the NAIA. JBU ranks third in the nation in shutouts per game, averaging 0.69 per match.
The balanced JBU attack is led by senior forward Anne Metz, who has a team-high nine goals and six assists for a team-best 24 points. Senior forward Kristen Howell is the team's best distributor with a team-leading eight assists to go with five goals for 18 points while sophomore mid Megan Hutto also has 18 points off six goals and six assists.
Starting all 16 matches, junior goalkeeper Caitlyn Logan has conceded just 10 goals for a 0.61 goals against average while making 52 saves for a .839 save percentage.
HISTORY WITH THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Mid-America Christian will be seeking just its second win against the Golden Eagles during the NAIA era as John Brown holds an 11-1 edge in the series dating back to 2008. The Evangels lone win over JBU came on Oct. 19, 2011 as Kassie Bird scored MACU's lone goal to go along with a Golden Eagles own goal while Melissa Dobie recorded a shutout in the 2-0 victory. The last time the two teams met in Siloam Springs, Ark., the Evangels challenged John Brown as Alissa Tapp netted a goal, but the Golden Eagles pulled out the 2-1 win on Oct. 7, 2017.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
The stakes are high for both the Evangels and the Golden Eagles in this matchup. With both teams tied for second in the SAC standings, the winner of Tuesday's matchup will lock up the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, which will start on Saturday, Nov. 9. The only way for MACU to claim the No. 2 seed is with a victory as John Brown would hold the goal-differential tiebreaker if the game comes down to a draw. If the Evangels lock up the second seed, they will face No. 7 seed Wayland Baptist, who the Evangels played to a 1-1 draw in Plainview, Texas back on Oct. 1.
If the Evangels tie or lose and Texas Wesleyan ties or loses to Wayland Baptist Tuesday night, the Evangels would be the No. 3 seed and would face the sixth-seeded Southwestern Christian. In their matchup earlier this season, Mid-America Christian scored three second half goals to pull out a 3-0 victory in Bethany, Okla.
MACU would be the fourth seed with a tie or loss and a TWU win, as they would then host fifth-seeded Oklahoma City. When the Evangels last played the Stars, Mid-America Christian came away with a 3-2 overtime victory on a game-winning golden goal scored by Bayleigh Fink with less than a minute remaining.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
For just the third time in program history, the Mid-America Christian women's soccer team swept the SAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week awards. Camacho took home the offensive accolade with her golden goal scored against the Lady Rams and Bayleigh Fink was selected for the defensive accolade after leading the defense to hold the fifth-best scoring offense in the NAIA to just three shots on-goal in 104 minutes of play.
The last time MACU earned both the SAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors was on Sept. 9 as goalkeeper Jennifer Starwalt was selected as the defensive recipient while Kyleigh Gibson notched her first SAC Player of the Week accolade on the offensive end.
The only other time MACU swept the awards was on Sept. 4, 2017 when Brittney Stephens and Madison Donihoo led the Evangels to a 14-0 victory over Manhattan Christian and a 2-1 win at Southwestern College (Kan.).
Mid-America Christian is currently tied with John Brown for the most SAC Player of the Week recipients with six on the season. Starwalt has captured the defensive award twice this season while Brooklyn Fink earned the defensive award on Oct. 14. On the offensive end, Camacho joins Gibson to the list of SAC Offensive Player of the Week recipients.
