OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian men's soccer team will wrap up its three-match road stand on Saturday when the Evangels take on Sterling College in Sterling, Kan. The match is slated for a 3:30 p.m. start following the women's match at 1 p.m.


LAST TIME OUT
The Evangels got their season off to a strong start last week in Arizona, picking up a 2-0 win over Benedictine University at Mesa on Friday before knocking off No. 21 Arizona Christian 1-0 on Labor Day.

Against the Redhawks, MACU's leading goal scorer from the 2017 season Dominik Tajak notched the Evangels' first goal of the regular season as his 28^th minute score gave Mid-America Christian a 1-nil advantage heading into the halftime break.

In the second half, senior midfielder Caleb Roldan gave MACU some insurance in the 74^th minute. The Oklahoma City native nailed a long range free kick from the right side into the top left corner of the goal to extend MACU's lead to two.

The Monday match against No. 21 Arizona Christian was tightly contested from beginning to end, but the big difference came in the 81^st minute when Simon Van Rheeden was able to dribble past three defenders down the left side and slip a shot past the diving keeper in the bottom right corner of the goal for the game-winner.


SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Sterling makes its way into the weekend with a lot of momentum after opening the 2019 season with a pair of wins last week. The Warriors won their season opener on Aug. 27 by a score of 3-1 at Doane (Neb.), coming back from a goal down with three unanswered to get the victory. Sterling followed it up with a major upset over No. 14 Bellevue (Neb.) 2-1 in their home opener.

The balanced Warriors attack is led by senior forward Mauricio Cordone with a pair of goals while junior midfielder Ramon Lopez has dished out a team-high three assists and taken 11 shots.

On defense, goalkeeper Joel Chavez is expected to make the start. Through the first two matches of the season, Chavez has only conceded two goals and has recorded 13 saves for an .867 save percentage.


HISTORY WITH THE WARRIORS
Sterling currently holds a 4-2 edge over the Evangels in the all-time series, but Mid-America Christian has fared well against the Warriors as of late, taking two of the last three matches. The last time the two teams met was at Evangel Field on Sept. 23, 2017 as MACU scored a season-high seven goals, two of which came off the foot of Tajak to complete a 7-0 victory.


BALANCING ACT
The last two seasons have presented a different look for the Evangels in the attacking zone. Two seasons ago, Tajak carried a bulk of the scoring load, scoring a program record 23 of the team's 53 goals with no other player scoring more than four goals that year. Last season, the Evangels had a far more balanced attack in their front line with five players scoring four or more goals. Through the first two matches this season, three different players have scored the Evangels' three goals this season.


PARK THE BUS
The Evangels have found a major bright spot on the defensive side with the emergence of sophomore goalkeeper Austen Parker through the first two matches. The University of Science & Arts transfer has made some crucial saves, tallying a total of nine in 180 minutes of action. Parker and the Evangels defense will look to keep it up against a Sterling squad that is averaging 2.5 goals per match so far this season.


ON THEIR BEST BEHAVIOR
MACU head coach Mitchell Sowerby has put a highly disciplined team onto the field so far this year. In the Evangels' last two matches, MACU has not been issued a single card while committing just nine fouls in each of the last two matches.