OKLAHOMA CITY – After putting together the most successful season in program history that culminated in an NCCAA National Championship, the Mid-America Christian men's soccer team was recognized at the Oklahoma State Capitol on Tuesday afternoon.
The team was honored by Senator Paul Rosino (R-OK), who is a Mid-America Christian University alum, as well as Senator Darrell Weaver (R-OK) and Rep. Chris Kannady (R-OK) inside the Oklahoma Senate Chamber.
"It was a great experience and an honor to be recognized at the State Capitol by the people at the highest level in our government," said MACU Head Coach Mitchell Sowerby. "We're proud to represent the state of Oklahoma. It was rewarding to be recognized after all the hard work the guys have put in this season."
The Evangels were invited after winning the program's first ever NCCAA National Championship, defeating Grace College 5-0 in the championship match. Mid-America Christian finished the 2019 season with a 20-3-1 record and broke multiple team program records, including: wins, goals scored, assists, points, shots, shots on-goal, goals against average and shutouts.
At Nationals, MACU faced a stiff test from No. 9 seed Piedmont International in Pool play as the Bruins rallied from two goals down in the second half to close the gap to one, but the Evangels held on for the for a 3-2 win in the opening game.
After that tightly contested match, the Evangels had to overcome adversity when senior forward Simon Van Rheeden suffered a medical emergency and was urgently flown back to his home country, the Netherlands to receive treatment.
However, Mid-America Christian rallied behind its senior leader, dominating the rest of the tournament by not allowing a single goal the rest of the way to win the NCCAA National Championship. During the run, the Evangels pitched a 2-0 shutout over Roberts Wesleyan in the final match of pool play before defeating Ottawa (Ariz.) 1-0 in the NCCAA Semifinal on Pero Mikulic's 85th minute game-winner.
The Evangels also put together their best ever finish in Sooner Athletic Conference play, notching a 7-1-1 record in regular season play to place second in the league standings, just a half-game back of John Brown for the conference title. Previously, MACU had never finished higher than fifth in the SAC standings while the previous best conference record was 6-3-1 set by the 2017 squad.
While the team's only league loss came in a 3-2 double overtime defeat at Southwestern Christian, the Evangels were able to get revenge on the Eagles in the NCCAA Central Region Championship match as MACU topped the three-time NCCAA National Champion 6-3 at Evangel Field on Nov. 22, 2019.
Several Evangels received All-American honors at the conclusion of the season, including Stephen Nganga being named the NCCAA Player of the Year along with earning NCCAA All-American honors with teammates Rodrigo Albuquerque, Allan Sorato, Fabian Forisch and Austen Parker. Sowerby was also selected as the NCCAA Coach of the Year.
