OKLAHOMA CITY – Following a sensational start to Sooner Athletic Conference, Mid-America Christian men's soccer will be looking to achieve its best start in program history on Tuesday as the Evangels will head to Plainview, Texas to take on Wayland Baptist for a 6 p.m. match.
LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian (7-1, 1-0 SAC) could not have gotten off to a better start in SAC play as the Evangels defeated conference preseason favorite Science & Arts 4-0 at home on Friday.
Dominik Tajak scored the game-winner in the 27th minute while Simon Van Rheeden chipped in his fourth goal of the season in the 33rd minute to take a 2-nil lead at the half. Allan Sorato and Kieran Chance each scored second half goals while Austen Parker picked up the victory with six saves in-goal.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Wayland Baptist makes its way into the week as the only undefeated team in the SAC, holding a 5-0-2 overall record and a 1-0 mark against SAC opponents. Last week in their conference opener, the Pioneers picked up a 6-0 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State.
Senior midfielder James Westfield is the squad's scoring leader, tallying nine goals for the second-best mark in the SAC. Senior mid Adir Versano has been a primary catalyst for the WBU attack that is averaging 3.43 goals per game, recording eight assists for second in the conference.
The Pioneers have been splitting time at goalkeeper in 2019 between Gonzalo Santa and Juan Basabe. Santa not only leads Wayland, but leads the entire SAC in goals allowed average by not allowing a single goal in four starts and 314 minutes of action. Santa possesses a 3-0-1 record in goal and has a team-high 14 saves. Basabe has been solid in-goal as well for the Pioneers, giving up just two goals on a 0.74 goals allowed average while going 2-0 on the season.
HISTORY WITH THE PIONEERS
Wayland Baptist holds the lead in the all-time series with an 8-5 record, but the Evangels have been hot team of late. MACU defeated the Pioneers twice last season, including a 2-1 victory in the SAC Tournament Semifinal in Plainview, Texas thanks to a 79th minute game-winner scored by Tiuri Schieving. The Evangels also won a one-goal match earlier in the season on Sept. 29, 2018 as Van Rheeden's 32nd minute score was the difference maker in the 1-0 game.
TAKING IT OUT OF PARK-ER
Sophomore goalkeeper Austen Parker has been shifting his play into overdrive the last few weeks. The Piedmont, Okla. product has conceded just one goal in his last four starts, which includes back-to-back shutouts last week against Oklahoma Baptist and Science & Arts.
Parker earned both the SAC Defensive Player of the Week and the NCCAA Division I Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week honors after making 11 saves, which included a six-save effort against the Drovers that matched his career high. The shutout over OBU was the first in Mid-America Christian's program history while the Evangels are the only team this season to hold the Drovers scoreless.
GROUP GOALS
Despite scoring 13 goals between the Oklahoma Baptist and USAO matches last week, the Evangels attack saw incredible balance as no one player recorded more than two goals or four total points. 11 different players scored goals for MACU while Stephen Nganga and Rai Ramus were the only two players to tally multiple scores. The other nine players who chipped in on the scoring columns were Van Rheeden, Schieving, Sorato, Tajak, Caleb Roldan, Dejue Johnson, Simon Wieschemann, Kieran Chance and Rodrigo Albuquerque.
STORMING INTO PLAINVIEW
The Mid-America Christian men's soccer team isn't the only thing storming into the Plainview area this week. Due to storms rolling into the area on Monday night and continuing into Tuesday, the start time for the match could be subject for change.
