OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 3 Mid-America Christian men's soccer needed to battle back from a 1-0 halftime deficit, but the Evangels came out in the second half on-fire scoring a trio of goals to come away with a 3-2 victory against Texas Wesleyan on Saturday night at the Mike & Helen Dill Soccer Field.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• First Half
  • TWU – 24:02 – Goal: Mathis Guffroy (6) – TWU 1, MACU 0
• Second Half
  • MACU – 47:26 – Goal: Jack Price (5), Assists: Rodrigo Albuquerque, Rodrigo Ferreira – MACU 1, TWU 1
  • MACU – 53:19 – Goal: Luan Cesar (6) – MACU 2, TWU 1
  • MACU – 57:25 – Goal: Cesar Ramirez (3) – MACU 3, TWU 1
  • TWU – 64:50 – Goal: Oscar Odriozola (4), Assist: Mathis Guffroy – MACU 3, TWU 2

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Mid-America Christian was able to control the possession in the early going, forcing three shots on-goal over the first 16 minutes, but TWU keeper Bastian Blumenberg was able to keep the Evangels off the board with a trio of saves.
  • Texas Wesleyan struck first win a long ball went off the head of Salvador Garcia and the Rams' Mathis Guffroy was able to slip in-between Jeremi Abonnel and Dejue Johnson, putting a header into the open goal to bring the score to 1-0 in the 25^th minute.
  • Neither team would get an opportunity for an on-target shot over the remainder of the half as the Evangels trailed 1-nil at the break.
• Second Half
  • The Evangels came out in the second half on-fire, opening the half with Jack Price's fifth goal of the season in the 48^th minute. On the game-tying play, Rodrigo Ferreira launched a deep ball from the left side of midfield to a wide open Rodrigo Albuquerque on the right of the 18-yard box. He then found Price breaking toward the right post and he slipped his shot in-between the post and the keeper to make it a 1-1 game.
  • In the 54^th minute, Eugenio Garcia Guerra won the ball from the deep left cross and into the middle of the 18-yard box. A Rams defender was able to get a head on it, but his failed clearance went right to the foot of Luan Cesar, as he executed an open 8-yard shot into the left side of the net to give the Evangels the 2-1 advantage.
  • Mid-America Christian got a critical insurance goal that ended up being the game-winner just four minutes later. With Texas Wesleyan having possession on the left side near midfield, the Rams made a crucial mistake when Cesar Ramirez was able to intercept a pass intended for a TWU defender and break by two Rams defensemen before firing a shot through to the left post past Blumenberg trying to make a sliding tackle at the point of attack to bring it to a 3-1 contest.
  • Texas Wesleyan brought it to within one when Guffroy had a break away down the left side and slipped a shot to Oscar Odriozola open in the 6-yard goal box, putting it into the back of the open net, making it 3-2 with 25:10 remaining.
  • The Rams narrowly missed a chance at an equalizer in the closing seconds when Nate Kopetsky had an open breakaway down the left side and rushed a shot toward the left post, but his shot went just wide of the post, deflecting off the net siding, allowing the game to end in regulation.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian controlled the possession, outshooting Texas Wesleyan by a 22-10 margin with a 7-3 edge in shots on-goal. The Rams, who came into the match as one of the top-scoring teams in the NAIA were held to their second-lowest shot output and their fewest shots on-goal in a match this season.
• The Evangels were balanced on the offensive end with 11 players attempting shots in the contest, led by Cesar Ramirez with five attempts and two shots on-goal, including his second game-winner of the season.
• On top of Jack Price becoming the fourth Evangels player to net five goals this season, Luan Cesar moved into second on the team in goal-scoring with his sixth of the campaign.
• With his seventh assist on the season, Rodrigo Albuquerque moved into seventh in MACU's single season record book.
• Mid-America Christian moved to 13-0 on the season at 5-0 at the midway point of Sooner Athletic Conference play while Texas Wesleyan dropped to 6-4-2 overall and 1-2-1 in league play.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will return to the road on Tuesday as the Evangels will travel to Plainview, Texas for a 7 p.m. match against one of the top teams in the SAC in Wayland Baptist.