OKLAHOMA CITY – The 2019 season was another highly successful one for the Mid-America Christian women's soccer team as the Evangels won the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Central Region Championship to advance to the National Championships for the fourth time in the last six seasons.
The Evangels dominated Southwestern Christian 4-0 in the regional championship match at Evangel Field on Nov. 19 to receive the Central Region's automatic bid to the NCCAA National Championships in Kissimmee, Fla. Senior Paola Camacho led MACU to victory by scoring a pair of goals in the win.
MACU had a strong showing at National Championships, getting its first match at nationals since 2015 with a dominant 4-0 victory over Erskine (S.C.) in the first match of pool play on Dec. 3. Redshirt freshman forward Kyleigh Gibson scored the game-winner in the 15th minute before adding some insurance in the 53rd minute for MACU's fourth goal in the match.
However, the Evangels saw their season come to an end with a hard-fought 2-0 loss to eventual finalist Ottawa (Ariz.) in the final match of pool competition.
Despite a disappointing conclusion to the season, the 2019 campaign was one of the most successful in the program's history. The Evangels finished with a 14-6-1 record, setting the second-most wins in a single season in MACU history, placing only behind the 16-4-1 campaign in 2010.
"This season went better than I expected it to go," said MACU Head Coach Evan Dresel. "We were coming off a tough season last season. After we lost the first two games, I was concerned, but after we got our first win, we started to see some dramatic improvement as the season progressed."
After the conclusion of the campaign, a pair of Evangels earned NCCAA All-American accolades with Gibson and freshman defender Brooklyn Fink being selected to the Second Team, becoming the 14th and 15th different players to earn NCCAA Division I All-American under Dresel.
"I wasn't surprised at how good our freshmen were this year," Dresel remarked. "I knew Kyleigh (Gibson) was good even though we didn't have her last year. With her speed and athleticism, I knew she was going to do well. The Fink sisters (Brooklyn Fink, Bayleigh Fink) have a great reputation around Oklahoma City as great players, so I knew bringing them in would be big for us."
MACU had a strong showing during the Sooner Athletic Conference season by finishing with a 6-2-1 record against league foes, its winningest season against SAC competition since placing third in the league standings at 8-2-1 in 2010. The only two losses the Evangels faced in league play came against a pair of nationally ranked powerhouses in No. 11 Science & Arts and No. 10 John Brown while going 6-0-1 against the rest of the league.
Five Evangels were named to the All-Sooner Athletic Conference Team as Fink was named the Co-Defensive Player of the Year and selected to the First Team along with junior goalkeeper Jennifer Starwalt.
Gibson was one of three to headline the Second Team honorees, joined by junior midfielder Liz Lozano and junior mid Marga Franco.
The 2019 team closed out the season as the most prolific offensive team during the program's NAIA era run (2007-Present), closing out the campaign as the top goal-scoring team (75 goals) and recorded the second-most assists (42) to finish as the top point-scoring team (192).
The Evangels efficiently placed 232 shots on-goal, tying the best mark in MACU history with the 2013 squad while finishing just one behind the 2010 team for the most game-winning goals (14).
MACU was also a fundamentally strong squad on the defensive end, recording the second-most shutouts during the NAIA era (10) while allowing the fifth-fewest goals per game (1.38).
Lozano and Gibson headlined MACU's offensive attack as each finished with 14 goals apiece while Lozano's six assists knotted her a team-best 34 points while Gibson's five gave her 33 on the season. Five of Gibson's 14 goals were of the game-winning variety, tying the second-most in a single season to place only behind Brittney Stephen's program record of seven set during the 2017 campaign.
"Liz (Lozano) seemed more focused on improving," Dresel remarked about his most improved player from a season ago. "Last year she was trying to find her footing, but this year we were able to play her in one position more consistently and I think she'll be even better next year."
Defensively, Starwalt had a resurgent year in the net. The third-year starter after going through a sophomore slump went 14-6-1 with a 1.45 goals against average while making 83 saves for a .741 save percentage to go along with eight shutouts.
"Jennifer (Starwalt) has been a strong goalkeeper for us the past few years, but I thought this was a standout year for her," Dresel added. "She's sort of an MVP type player for our team with some of the saves she made this year."
With the Evangels only losing five players to graduation, MACU will be primed to make another strong run in 2020.
"I think we're happy with how we ended this season, but I don't think the girls are satisfied," Dresel stated. "I think we're going to go into next year with a chip on our shoulder and ready to build upon what we did this season."
