KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Freshman forward Pero Mikulic scored the game-winning goal with just less than six minutes remaining to propel the Mid-America Christian men's soccer team to the NCCAA National Championship with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Ottawa (Ariz.) in the NCCAA Semifinal Friday afternoon at the Austin-Tindall Sports Complex.
The Evangels scored the immaculate game-winner with 5:59 on the clock when Simon Wieschemann delivered a pass to Dominik Tajak just outside the goal box, who then found Mikulic on the right side with a heel pass. The Croatian forward dribbled around a defender and fired a low line drive past the keeper to the back left corner of the goal from 15 yards out.
Mid-America Christian (19-3-1) will be competing for its first ever NCCAA National Championship in program history after completing a dominant run through the Pool A and semifinal rounds, never trailing at any point leading up to the championship match and outshooting their opponents by a 62-22 margin.
The Evangels dominated the offensive possession from beginning to end, outshooting Ottawa (Ariz.) (15-6-2) 21-9 with an 8-6 edge in shots on-goal, which included a lopsided 12-1 margin in first half shots.
Despite the offensive dominance by the Evangels in the opening 45 minutes, it appeared the Spirit took the lead in the 20th minute when an Eduardo Venutolo header off a deep cross landed at the feet of Misael Moreno on the right side of the box, who fired it into the back of the net over the head of Evangels goalkeeper Austen Parker. However, Moreno was called for offside on the play, negating the OUAZ score.
MACU's best look at a first half goal came in the 42nd minute Endri Copa launched a beautiful deep ball from the left side for Tajak at the right side post, but his open header went straight into the chest of OUAZ goalkeeper Andrew Tamburro, sending the game into the half with a scoreless draw.
Ottawa's best opportunity for a goal came in the final minute when the Evangels were called for a foul with 38 seconds left, setting up a Spirit free kick. The attempt found the head of Venutolo on the right side of the box, but Parker was able to dive on the low header to seal the Evangels victory.
Leading the MACU offensive efforts in the match was sophomore forward Rodrigo Albuquerque with five shots, placing two on-target while Mikulic was able to put three of his four shots on-frame.
Parker picked up his 19th win in goal and his 12th shutout while tying a career-high six saves in the strong defensive effort.
The Evangels were competing in their first ever NCCAA Semifinal since the tournament switched to a pool play format in 2013 and their second ever NCCAA Semifinal after defeating No. 1 seed Mid-Continent University in the NCCAA Quarterfinal round on Dec. 2, 2009. MACU finished in fourth at the 2009 NCCAA Tournament after falling to Judson (Ill.) 2-0 in the semifinal and 3-2 to Covenant College in the consolation match.
Mid-America Christian will take on Grace College (Ind.) in tomorrow's championship match. It'll be just the second time in program history the Evangels will play Grace with their last meeting coming on Aug. 25, 2015 as the Evangels defeated the Lancers 3-1 in Winona Lake, Ind.
The NCCAA Championship tilt is slated for a 5 p.m. (4 p.m. CST) kickoff at the Austin-Tindall Sports Complex.
