Box Score WAXAHACHIE, Texas – Despite playing shorthanded for most of the second half and overtime, the Mid-America Christian men's soccer team ended its fall season on a high note as junior forward Rodrigo Albuquerque scored the golden goal in the 94^th minute to propel the Evangels to a 1-0 victory at the SAGU Soccer Field on Friday.

 
SCORING SUMMARY

• Overtime
  • MACU – 93:48 – Goal: Rodrigo Albuquerque (9), Assist: Luan Cesar – MACU 1, SAGU 0

 

MATCH SUMMARY

• Mid-America Christian (6-1) had the first strong opportunity to score in the 21^st minute when Bruno Sperandio launched a long shot from the left side that pinged off the crossbar.
• Both teams struggled to attack each other's stifling defenses as the game went into the half with a scoreless tie. The Evangels were held to eight shots, placing just one on-goal, but held the Southwestern Assemblies of God (1-2-1) to without a single shot in the opening half.
• The Evangels found themselves in some trouble less than five minutes into the second half when Mandela Singh-Sharpe was called for a red card, forcing MACU to play with only 10 men for the rest of the match.
• With just under 26 minutes remaining in the half, Rodrigo Albuquerque had a solid chance at scoring the go-ahead goal off a breakaway, but his shot that slipped past the outreached hands of the diving keeper bounced off the right post to keep the match scoreless.
• Southwestern Assemblies of God missed a golden opportunity of their own in the 74^th minute when miscommunication in the Evangels defense pulled Juan Cediel out of the goal and led to uncontested shot by SAGU's Jadhel Hill. However, he pushed his 16-yard shot from the right side of the box wide to the left.
• Four minutes later, the Evangels had another excellent opportunity at the go-ahead goal when Dante Luz rifled a shot from the left side that bounced off the crossbar. Albuquerque was in the perfect position to head in the potential game-winner off the missed shot, but pushed the open header just over the crossbar which sent the game into overtime with neither side finding the back of the net.
• Mid-America Christian finally seized the first strong opportunity it had in the 94^th minute when Luan Cesar from the left side dished a pass to Rodrigo Albuquerque breaking toward the middle of the box. He managed to take a dribble and slip a shot through the defense to inside the lower left post from 18-yards out to seal the Evangels victory.

 

MATCH NOTABLES

• Mid-America Christian finished the match by outshooting SAGU by a 24-6 margin with a 4-2 edge in shots on-goal. Despite playing with only 10 men for the final 44 minutes of the match, the Evangels still managed to outshoot the Lions 16-6 in the second half and overtime.
• Rodrigo Albuquerque netted his ninth goal of the season and his fifth game-winner of the year. Even with more than half the season to go, his five game-winners already ties him with Raphael Bonelle's 2013 mark for the second-most game-winners in a season and is just one shy of tying former MACU teammate Dominik Tajak, who netted six game-winners in 2017.
• The golden goal was the second of Albuquerque's career with the last one coming in the 102^nd minute of double overtime against Texas Wesleyan in last season's Sooner Athletic Conference Quarterfinal on Nov. 8, 2019.
• In his return from injury, Luan Cesar made a big impact in the Evangels attack, recording the assist on Albuquerque's score. Cesar was one of MACU's top attackers in the contest with four shots and two shots on-goal while the dime was his third of the season.

 

NEXT UP

• Mid-America Christian will return to action in the spring, opening the second half of the split 2020-21 campaign at home on Friday, Feb. 21 against Houston-Victoria. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Evangel Field and will be the program's first ever home night game.