MCPHERSON, Kan. – In a rematch of last season's Sooner Athletic Conference Championship, the No. 4 Mid-America Christian men's soccer team rallied back from a 1-0 halftime deficit to pull away with a 3-2 victory at Central Christian on Saturday afternoon.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• First Half
  • CCCK – 21:15 – Goal: Edoardo Salmaso (3) – CCCK 1, MACU 0
• Second Half
  • MACU – 47:19 – Goal: Luan Cesar (5), Assists: Rodrigo Ferreira, Ricardo Ferreira – MACU 1, CCCK 1
  • MACU – 67:55 – Goal: Salvador Garcia (1), Assist: Cesar Ramirez – MACU 2, CCCK 1
  • MACU – 74:13 – Goal: Cesar Ramirez (2), Assist: Niccolo Ticozzelli – MACU 3, CCCK 1
  • CCCK – 89:58 – Goal: Tyler Hoxie (3) – MACU 3, CCCK 2

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Central Christian's leading scorer Drew Schrader managed to get the first shot on-goal in the match in the fifth minute, but freshman goalkeeper Jeremi Abonnel was able to make a solid save to keep the Tigers off the board.
  • The Tigers were able to capitalize off an Evangels foul called 10 yards outside the 18-yard box. Off the free kick, Edoardo Salmaso was able to chest the ball down and fire a shot into the right side of the net, just out of the reach of Abonnel to give Central Christian the 1-0 advantage.
  • CCCK's defensive alignment was able to hold Mid-America Christian to just one shot on-goal over the final 25 minutes of the half to allow the Tigers to hold the one-goal advantage at the break.
• Second Half
  • Mid-America Christian was able to find the equalizer on its first opportunity of the second half when Rodrigo Ferreira delivered a beautiful ball to his brother Ricardo Ferreira, who dished it to Luan Cesar breaking behind him off his back foot. Cesar's 12-yard shot from the middle of the box deflected off the inside of the left post and in to draw the match even at 1-1.
  • MACU mustered a slew of shots over the next 20 minutes, attempting six and putting two on-goal before the Evangels were able to find the go-ahead score. In the 68^th minute, Cesar Ramirez delivered a gorgeous corner from the right side, finding the head of Salvador Garcia in the middle of the six-yard box to make it a 2-1 MACU lead.
  • With just under 16 minutes remaining, the Evangels scored a crucial insurance goal that ended up being the game-winner when Niccolo Ticozzelli was able to find Cesar Ramirez in the middle of the box on a left-side cross, firing his second goal of the season into the left side to extend the edge to 3-1.
  • Mid-America Christian conceded a goal with just five seconds left when a foul was called inside the 18-yard box, setting up Tyler Hoxie for a penalty kick put through the left post, ending the match scoring at 3-2.

MATCH NOTES

• Despite the close match, Mid-America Christian dominated in the possession, outshooting the Tigers by a 22-5 margin and a 9-4 edge in shots on-goal.
• The five shots taken by the Tigers was their lowest offensive output of the season while the three goals scored by MACU was the most the stout Central Christian defense has given up during the 2021 campaign.
• Cesar Ramirez finished the match with his first game-winner of the season while his assist on Salvador Garcia's goal marked his eighth of the season, moving him into a five-way tie for second in MACU's single season record book with Willy Deleon (2012), Raphael Bonelle (2013), Pero Mikulic (2019) and Fabian Forisch (2019).
• Luan Cesar moved into a tie for second with Ricardo Ferreira in scoring for MACU with his fifth goal of the season while Salvador Garcia earned his first goal of his Evangels career.
• By getting the victory, Mid-America Christian is the first team in the NAIA to reach 10 wins.
• Since the 2007 season, Mid-America Christian moved to 7-0-1 against Central Christian.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will now prepare for one of its most pivotal Sooner Athletic Conference matches of the season as the Evangels will head to Bethany, Okla. on Tuesday, Oct. 5 to take on Southwestern Christian for a 3 p.m. kickoff.