Men's Soccer 7/20/2020 4:07:00 PM Adam Stanek - MACU Sports Information

Men’s Soccer Leads Sooner Athletic Conference With 12 Scholar-Athletes

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Sooner Athletic Conference announced its men's soccer Scholar-Athletes on Monday as Mid-America Christian recorded a league-leading 12 student-athletes on the list.

To receive SAC Scholar-Athlete honors, a player must be a junior or above by academic standing with at least a 3.5 cumulative grade-point average, appear on the eligibility certificate for an NAIA-recognized sport and have either attended two full years as a non-transfer or one full year as a transfer.

The Evangels made up nearly a third of the 40 student-athlete list, which also included two of the four student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA. Last week, the Evangels received SAC Scholar Team accolades after finishing the 2019-20 academic year with the highest GPA of all men's soccer teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference at 3.50.

"We are extremely proud of all our players who have been named a SAC Scholar-Athlete," said MACU Head Coach Mitchell Sowerby. "This is an incredible achievement and having placed such high importance on academics we are glad to see our players receiving the recognition they deserve.

One of the most prolific scorers in program history, senior Dominik Tajak graduated from Mid-America Christian in May with a 4.0 GPA, receiving his Bachelor's of Science in Data Analytics.

A 6-6 forward from Erlangen, Germany, Tajak completed his two-year MACU career as the program's record holder for game-winning goals (9), with the second-most goals (27), points (61), shots (146) and shots on-goal (86). Tajak competed at MACU in 2017 and returned to MACU in 2019 after competing for NCAA Division I Wright State for his junior campaign.

In 2017, Tajak was an NCCAA First Team All-American and an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention after recording MACU's single season records for goals scored (23), points (49), shots (119) and shots on-goal (70) while leading the Evangels to their first ever 13-win season.

In his third year with MACU, junior Simon Wieschemann completed the 2019-20 academic year with a 4.0 GPA while majoring in Business Administration. The 2018 NCCAA All-American and two-time All-SAC defender was one of the staples of a defense back line that allowed a program-record low 0.9 goals per game.

The Frankfurt, Germany native has competed in 67 matches so far in his Evangels career, just nine away from tying the program record set by Caleb Roldan last season. This past season, Wieschemann scored a personal record four goals, three of which coming off penalty kicks.

"Dom and Simon are incredible role models and exemplify what it means to be a student-athlete," Sowerby added. "Maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout their collegiate careers speaks volumes about their work ethic, attitude and character. We are excited to have them spotlighted as stand out athletes and again, we are delighted they are getting the recognition they deserve."

A senior forward from Rio de Janiero, Brazil, Allan Sorato graduated from MACU in May with a 3.58 GPA while obtaining his Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. In a 24-0 victory over Bacone on Oct. 8, 2019, Sorato made history by becoming the first Evangel in program history to score five goals in one game while also being the first player to record double-digit points with 11.

Sorato finished the 2019 season by tying Raphael Bonelle and teammate Rodrigo Albuquerque for the second-most goals scored in a single season with 15 and tying teammate Pero Mikulic for the third-most points with 36.

In his two-year career with the Evangels, Sorato finished with the third-most career goals (20), points (48) and game-winning goals (5), as well as the fifth-most assists (8), shots (95) and shots on-goal (51).

A Linstead, Jamaica product, Dejue Johnson wrapped up his junior year at MACU with a 3.65 GPA while majoring in Psychology.

The 5-11 defender made an enormous impact in his first season on the Evangels roster, earning the Sooner Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year award. The dynamic defender played a pivotal role in the Evangels setting the program record for the most shutouts pitched in a single season with 13 on their way to winning MACU's first ever NCCAA National Championship.

Appearing in and starting 23 games in his first season at MACU, junior midfielder Carlos Castrejon made his impact felt on the field with his dynamic speed and ballhandling skills. The 5-5 Gainesville, Georgia native also made an impact in the classroom by finishing the year with a 3.93 cumulative GPA while majoring in Business Administration.

Castrejon scored his lone goal of the season in a 3-0 victory over Texas Wesleyan in MACU's final home game of the regular season and dished out four assists over the course of the campaign.

Despite missing a third of the season due to injury, junior defender Endri Copa made his presence felt on the field by appearing in 16 games, 15 of which he started. Copa is a Business Administration major at MACU and closed out the year with a 3.79 cumulative GPA.

Copa tallied three assists last season, recording his first in an Evangels uniform in a 5-0 victory over Bethel on Sept. 13, 2019.

In his first season with the Evangels, midfielder Hector Valles wrapped up his junior year academically with a 3.81 GPA while majoring in Business Administration at MACU.

The Valencia, Spain native competed in 13 games and made five starts, scoring his first career goal in a MACU uniform against Bacone.

Junior forward Josue Alanis received SAC Scholar-Athlete honors with a 3.65 GPA in Business Administration. In MACU's 24-0 win over Bacone, Alanis became the first player in the history of the program to record four assists in a single match while also scoring his lone goal of the season in the 41^st minute.

Seeing action in 15 games and making five starts, junior defender Diego Romero finished the year with a cumulative GPA of 3.54. The Accounting major from Oklahoma City scored his only goal and recorded a career-best two assists in the victory over Bacone.

Junior goalkeeper Juan Cediel finished up his junior season at MACU with a 3.92 GPA as the Bogota, Columbia native is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration.

A junior academically but a sophomore athletically, Michael Reyna turned in a cumulative GPA of 3.86 while studying Accounting at MACU. The Oklahoma City product appeared in just one game for the Evangels last season, but made that outing count by turning in a hat trick with three goals in MACU's record-setting match against Bacone.

Rounding out the SAC Scholar-Athlete recipients was junior goalkeeper Liam Ward. Majoring in Business Administration, the Guilford, England product closed out the year with a 3.85 GPA. While not seeing action in 2019, Ward was an All-SAC Second Team goalkeeper for the Evangels during the 2018 season.

To view the complete list of MACU's Scholar-Athlete recipients, check out the list below.

SAC Men's Soccer Scholar-Athletes