OKLAHOMA CITY – While the Mid-America Christian women's soccer team celebrated Senior Night at the Mike & Helen Dill Soccer Field on Saturday night, it was the freshmen that came up clutch as Mia Wilyerd scored the second half equalizer before Jasmine Morales tapped in the golden goal in overtime to propel the Evangels to a 2-1 victory over Southwestern Assemblies of God.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• First Half
  • SAGU – 29:10 – Goal: Rylee Thatcher (9), Assist: Jordan Shelton – SAGU 1, MACU 0
• Second Half
  • MACU – 57:40 – Goal: Mia Wilyerd (2), Assist: Marga Franco – MACU 1, SAGU 1
• Overtime
  • MACU – 95:45 – Goal: Jasmine Morales (3), Assists: Johanna Behrens, Kyleigh Rushing – MACU 2, SAGU 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Both teams were able to force three shots on-goal through the first 28 minutes, but MACU goalkeeper Jennifer Starwalt and SAGU keeper Zoe Boldt were each able to make a trio of saves to keep the match in a scoreless draw.
  • In the 29^th minute, the Evangels ran into a little misfortune when SAGU's Jordan Shelton rifled a shot from the right side of the box that squarely hit the top right corner where the post and crossbar meet. The deflection landed right at the feet of Rylee Thatcher, who easily slipped in the go-ahead goal with 15:50 left on the clock.
  • MACU's only other on-target shot came from Kadin Stinson in the 40^th minute, but was unable to put any power behind the highly contested 20-yard shot as the Lady Lions took a 1-nil lead into the halftime break.
• Second Half
  • Mid-America Christian's first great chance at an equalizer came in the early portions of the 58^th minute when the Evangels were able to break down the field and set up Kelsey Henry on the outer right edges of the 18-yard box. The senior forward fired a curling shot toward the left side, but Boldt made a phenomenal diving save to snag the attempt and keep the Evangels off the board.
  • Moments later, MACU found that equalizer when senior midfielder Marga Franco delivered a beautiful cross from the left side toward the right post. Freshman forward Mia Wilyerd was able to make a great read on it and slipped her shot just inside the right post, just out of the reach of the diving keeper to draw the match even at 1-1.
  • Mid-America Christian's best chance at a go-ahead goal came in the 79^th minute when Johanna Behrens floated a deep shot from the right side that just barely deflected off the inside portion of the left crossbar, keeping the match tied.
  • The Lady Lions also had a great opportunity at scoring the game-winning goal in the final minutes when Alexis Roman was able to get by the defense and fire a shot from the left side toward the right post, but Starwalt made a stellar leaping save to send the game to overtime.
• Overtime
  • SAGU had a great early chance in the 92^nd minute when Thatcher launched a deep shot toward the top right side, but Starwalt made one of her best saves of the season when she leapt up toward the crossbar and forced the ball out the right side to keep the match alive.
  • Mid-America Christian was finally able to capitalize in the 96^th minute. On the game-winning play, Kyleigh Rushing was able to dribble around one defender on the right side toward the top of the 18-yard box before delivering a pass to Behrens on the outer right edge. Behrens delivered a well-place cross inside the six-yard box where Jasmine Morales crashed and tapped in a left-footed shot that bounced off the inside of the left post to seal the 2-1 victory.

MATCH NOTES

• While the Evangels struggled to capitalize offensive, Mid-America Christian finished the match with its second-highest shot output of the season with 31, putting 15 shots on-goal while SAGU finished with 14 shots with nine being on-target.
• The freshman goal scorers in the contest were Mia Wilyerd, who netted her second goal of the season and her first since her season-opening game-winning goal against Mid-America Nazarene while Jasmine Morales recorded her third goal and her second game-winner of the season.
• The assist for Franco on Wilyerd's equalizer was her team-high sixth of the campaign while the assists from Behrens and Rushing on Morales' golden goal were their fifth and second assists of the year.
• Jennifer Starwalt had one of her best matches of the year, tallying eight saves, her second-highest tally of the campaign and the most she has made in a win to lead the MACU defensive efforts.
• Prior to the start of the match, Mid-America Christian honored its 13 graduating seniors: Jennifer Starwalt, Aubrey Adams, Dixie Anderson, Kyleigh Rushing, Sylvie Willie, Marga Franco, Paola Camacho, Ana Luiza Abras, Kanasa Spybuck, Kelsey Henry, Jayce Fallon, Johanna Behrens and Veronica Lopez Cordero.
• By getting the win, Mid-America Christian has locked up the No. 4 seed in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament and will host either Central Christian or Oklahoma City, as the two teams will play on Tuesday to decide who will get that fifth-seed.

UP NEXT

• The SAC Quarterfinal will take place on Saturday, Nov. 5 at the Mike & Helen Dill Soccer Field. Kickoff will be slated for 7 p.m. once the seeding has been made official.