OKLAHOMA CITY - The Mid-America Christian University men's soccer team enters the 2019 campaign with high expectations, and with a high powered offense already slated to return, MACU brings in 11 new faces including a familiar face from the 2017 campaign.

Dominik Tajak - the 2017 SAC Offensive player of the year and newcomer of the year - returns to MACU after spending 2018 in the Division I ranks. He is joined by four upper classmen, one sophomore, and five freshmen as the Evangels look to defend their 2018 SAC tournament championship.

"We are extremely excited about the upcoming year," noted first-year head coach Mitchell Sowerby, "and we cannot wait to work with all the players. We have a great group of players returning from last years national tournament team and believe these 11 newcomers will help strengthen our squad in key areas. We know that winning conference last year has put a big target on our back and all the teams will be giving everything to beat us. This challenge is something that excites us as a program and our staff will work hard to make sure that we are prepared for that task."

Tajak - a 6-6 senior from Erlangen, Germany - returns to the sight of his outstanding sophomore campaign. He spent the 2018 season at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Tajak scored three goals and tallied an assist for the Raiders in 2018 on only 12 shots - playing mostly in a reserve role for a team that posted a 13-3-3 record and claimed a Horizon League regular season title. In 2017, he racked up 23 goals and 49 points for MACU, totals that were good enough for fourth and sixth in the NAIA, respectively.

Tajak is joined by four upperclassmen - senior Stephen Nganga, and juniors Dejue Johnson, Juan Cediel, and Hector Valles. Nganga comes to MACU from the University of the Southwest, where he earned 14 caps and made 11 starts for the Mustangs as a junior. He played mostly a defensive role, picking up two assists on six shots for the season. Johnson is a 5-11 defender from Linstead, Jamaica who comes to MACU from Laredo College (Texas), where he played 13 matches in 2018. He tallied three goals and picked up an assist - an impresive feat for a defender, as Laredo finished third in the NJCAA Region XIV standings. Hector Valles (Kansas City CC) joins the midfield as a 5-8 junior from Valencia, Spain. and Juan Cediel (Ranger College) comes to MACU after a sophomore season which saw him post a 4-4 record with a 2.36 GAA and the only shutout for Ranger College.

Three of the incoming freshmen are international players, and two hail from Oklahoma City. Pero Mikulic comes to MACU from Waiblingen, Croatia, and Fabian Forisch is another native of Erlangen, Germany. Mikulic is a 6-3 attacking midfielder, Forisch is a defender who stands at 5-10. The Evangels also bring in Teddy Kojo from Hohoe, Ghana on the international side. From closer to home, MACU will also feature freshmen Kenneth Gaytan (U.S. Grant HS) and Quan Van (Westmoore HS) from Oklahoma City. Gaytan is a forward, while Van is an attacking midfielder.

The 11 players join a solid returning core that has helped MACU rack up 26 wins in the past two seasons and a pair of National Tournament berths. Under Sowerby, the Evangels will endeavor to continue that success in 2019.