OKLAHOMA CITY – The Sooner Athletic Conference announced its Fall Academic All-Conference Team on Wednesday as 35 student-athletes from the Mid-America Christian men's and women's soccer teams as well as volleyball team made the list.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a regular letter winner and maintained at least a 3.25 grade-point average during the 2019-20 academic year.
The MACU women's soccer team placed 14 student-athletes on the Academic All-SAC Team while 13 men's soccer and eight volleyball players made the list.
Announced as a SAC Scholar Team on Tuesday, the Mid-America Christian women's soccer team continues to perform well on the field and in the classroom. The Evangels closed out the 2019 season with a 14-6-1 record and earned its fourth bid to the NCCAA National Championship meet in the last six seasons.
In the NCCAA Central Region Championship at Evangel Field on Nov. 19, the Evangels cruised to a 4-0 victory over Southwestern Christian thanks to a pair of goals scored by senior Paola Camacho, including the game-winner in the seventh minute.
The Evangels followed it up with another dominant 4-0 victory over Erskine (S.C.) in the first match of pool play at the NCCAA National Championships as redshirt freshman Kyleigh Gibson scored a pair of goals in the contest, including the game-winner in the 15th minute. The victory was the first for MACU at nationals since the team advanced to the 2015 NCCAA National Semifinal after picking up a 2-1 win over Warner (Fla.) and a 6-0 victory over Columbia International (S.C.) in pool play.
Posting the highest team GPA in the Sooner Athletic Conference, the MACU men's soccer team ended its record-breaking season as the top team in the NCCAA. The Evangels won their first ever NCCAA National Championship on Dec. 7 with a dominant 5-0 victory over Grace (Ind.) as senior forward Allan Sorato led MACU with back-to-back goals in the 13th and 23rd minutes, while Rodrigo Albuquerque, Pero Mikulic and Stephen Nganga each chipped in goals as well.
The Evangels broke almost every single team offensive and defensive record, including: goals scored (94), assists (81), points (267), shots (460), shots on-goal (235), goals against average (0.9) and shutouts (13).
On Nov. 22, the Evangels picked up their first NCCAA Central Region Championship win since 2013, avenging a double overtime loss to Southwestern Christian earlier in the season with a dominating 6-3 victory. Albuquerque and Mikulic each pitched in pair of goals to lead the MACU charge.
After surviving a hard-fought 3-2 win over Piedmont International in the first match of pool play at the NCCAA National Championships, the Evangels cruised to its first championship by pitching three consecutive shutouts in the week-long national meet.
The MACU volleyball team wrapped up the incredibly successful fall season for the athletic program with its first appearance at the NCCAA National Championships in 15 years. The Evangels closed out the 2019 campaign with a 15-14 overall record and posted its best finish ever in Sooner Athletic Conference play, finishing fifth in the league standings by going 12-8 against SAC foes.
Despite losing its first two matches at national meet, the Evangels closed out the 2019 season on a high note by sweeping Piedmont International (N.C.) in straight sets (25-15, 25-11, 25-11, 25-23) on Dec. 6. In that win, junior libero Maegan Plunk recorded the second-most digs in a three-set match in the NAIA era with 27 while junior outside hitter Hanna Foecker tallied the fourth-most service aces in a three-set match with seven.
Foecker became the first Evangels volleyball player to earn NCCAA All-American honors since Christiane Smith (2010) after notching the NAIA era record for kills per set in a single season (3.95) while tallying the third-most kills (371) and service aces (48).
For the complete list of Academic All-SAC Team recipients, check out the list below.
Women's Soccer (14)
Kirsty Ashworth
Rachael Bond
Paola Camacho
Veronica Lopez Cordero
Jayce Fallon
Brooklyn Fink
Marga Franco
Kyleigh Gibson
Kelsey Henry
Aubrey Robins
Ana Luiza Rodrigues
Jennifer Starwalt
Alex White
Sylvie Willie
Men's Soccer (13)
Rodrigo Albuquerque
Carlos Castrejon
Kieran Chance
Endri Copa
Fabian Forisch
Dejue Johnson
Pero Mikulic
Stephen Nganga
Allan Sorato
Dominik Tajak
Gustavo Urbina
Hector Valles
Simon Wieschemann
Volleyball (8)
Skylar Brower
Maddie Callicoat
Hanna Foecker
Elena Hadzhieva
Rebecca Lindley
Maegan Plunk
Kaylie Walker
Dianne Walter
