OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian men's soccer team faced a stiff test from an undefeated Science & Arts team on Friday at Evangel Field, but MACU couldn't quite come up with a late equalizer as the Drovers held on to hand the Evangels a tough 3-2 defeat.

 
MATCH SCORING

• 1^st Half
  • MACU – 2:09 – Pero Mikulic (4) – MACU 1, USAO 0
  • USAO – 13:54 – Abdel Nait-Zerrad (7), Assists: George Origiri, Lucas Encino – MACU 1, USAO 1
  • USAO – 39:50 – Callum Shepherd (2), Assists: Abdel Nait-Zerrad, Clement Michelet,  – USAO 2, MACU 1
• 2^nd Half
  • USAO – 67:40 – Abdel Nait-Zerrad (8), Assist: Hugo Medrano – USAO 3, MACU 1
  • MACU – 74:05 – Hector Valles (1), Assists: Endri Copa, Dante Luz – USAO 3, MACU 2

 
MATCH SUMMARY

• Mid-America Christian (4-1) quickly got out in-front when Carlos Castrejon's shot from just outside the 18-yard box was saved by the USAO keeper, but Pero Mikulic was in the right place at the right time to punch in the loose ball from three yards out to give the Evangels the early 1-nil lead.
• Science & Arts (4-0-1) was able to push across the equalizer just 12 minutes later when strong ball movement by George Onigiri and Lucas Encino was able to find an open Abdel Nait-Zerrad on the left side of the box as he launched a shot just over the outstretched hands of Juan Cediel.
• With just over five minutes left until the half, the Drovers were able to grab the lead on Callum Shepard's score of a Nait-Zerrad pass from the left side to make it a 2-1 game heading into the break.
• The Evangels had a strong chance at an equalier four minutes into the second half, but USAO goalkeeper Bram Dekker came up with back-to-back strong saves on Rodrigo Albuquerque's shot from the right side of the box as well as Mikulic's attempt off the rebound.
• Nait-Zerrad came up with a pivotal insurance goal for the Drovers in the 68^th minute off a Hugo Medrano pass, which ended up being the game-winner.
• MACU was finally able to cut into the Drovers advantage with 15:55 remaining when a give-and-go on the left side of the box between Dante Luz and Endri Copa led to Hector Valles being wide open on the right side of the box. After slightly juggling the cross, Valles was able to collect and snipe a strong 15-yard shot into the top right corner to cut the deficit to 3-2.
• Albuquerque had MACU's last best chance at an equalizer less than a minute later when Copa found him on a cross from the left corner, but his header found the hands of the USAO keeper.

 
MATCH NOTABLES

• The two teams finished dead even on shots attempts at 14-all with the Drovers holding a slight 9-7 advantage in shots on-goal.
• It was the first match during the 2020-21 campaign that the MACU defense allowed an opponent to take more than 10 shots and place at least five shots on-goal.
• It was the second straight loss for MACU to the Drovers after falling 4-3 in the Sooner Athletic Conference Semifinal last season.
• Hector Valles scored his first goal of the 2020-21 season while Mikulic's third-minute score was his fourth of the campaign.

 
NEXT UP

• Mid-America Christian will look to get back on the winning track in a couple weeks as the Evangels will be hosting Oklahoma Panhandle State for a 3:30 p.m. match at Evangel Field on Friday, Nov. 5.