KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Christian men's soccer team was well represented in the United Soccer Coaches postseason honors this week as head coach Mitchell Sowerby and assistant coaches Danny Frid, James Roberson and Dustin Hooker were named the NCCAA Coaching Staff of the Year on Friday. Senior midfielder Stephen Nganga was also tabbed as the NCCAA Player of the Year earlier in the week.
In his first season at Mid-America Christian, Sowerby and the rest of the MACU staff guided the program to its most successful season in program history, winning the program's first ever NCCAA National Championship while finishing the season with a program-best 20 wins, finishing the year with a 20-3-1 record.
The Evangels eclipsed multiple offensive and defensive program records over the course of the season. Mid-America Christian scored 93 goals (3.88 goals per game), shattering the previous program-best of 52 set during the 2017 campaign. The 2019 squad also more than doubled the assist record, tallying 81 compared to just 37 set in 2017 for a total of 267 points, surpassing the 2017 mark of 141.
The 460 shots and 235 shots on-goal taken far surpassed the MACU records while the defense limited opponents to a program-record low 0.9 goals per game and 13 shutouts on the fourth-best save percentage in team history at .753.
Mid-America Christian also recorded a team-best five players on the NCCAA All-America Team, including its first ever NCCAA Player of the Year in Stephen Nganga and Rodrigo Albuquerque on First Team, Allan Sorato and Fabian Forisch on Second Team, along with Austen Parker on Third Team.
Nganga was not only selected as the NCCAA Player of the Year, but he also received the United Soccer Coaches' honor for Player of the Year. The senior midfielder from Nairobi, Kenya was a phenomenal presence for the Evangels on both the offensive and defensive sides of the field, scoring seven goals and seven assists for 21 points in 1712 minutes of action.
The MACU men's soccer staff will be honored at the United Soccer Coaches Awards Banquet on Jan. 17, 2020 in Baltimore, Md. at the Baltimore Convention Center.
