OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian women's soccer team was able to keep it close against Science & Arts in a battle of two first-place teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference, but the Drovers scored a pair of late goals to come away with a 3-0 win at the Mike & Helen Dill Soccer Field on Saturday night.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• First Half
  • USAO – 7:11 – Goal: Aubrey Ruttman (1) – USAO 1, MACU 0
• Second Half
  • USAO – 79:57 – Goal: Mackenzie Holub (9) – USAO 2, MACU 0
  • USAO – 85:10 – Goal: Emma Rice (20) – USAO 3, MACU 0

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • MACU goalkeeper Jennifer Starwalt was able to get an early stop but the Drovers were able to take advantage of an early opportunity when a failed clearance found the foot of Aubrey Ruttman, as she rifled a shot from the top of the 18-yard box to the top right corner of the goal, making it a 1-nil Drovers advantage in the eighth minute.
  • The Drovers narrowly missed getting a second goal in the half when Alisha Rey's shot from the right side pinged off the cross bar in the 28^th minute.
  • The Evangels struggled to muster any shots on-goal over the course of the half, but Starwalt was able to make three more saves to keep it to a 1-0 deficit at the break.
• Second Half
  • Starwalt was once again able to hold off an early Drovers barrage to start the final 45, notching three saves in the first eight minutes.
  • The Evangels were finally able to muster a pair of shots on-goal, coming off the foot of Veronica Lopez Cordero in the 68^th minute and Johanna Behrens in the 77^th minute, but USAO goalkeeper Moa Zakrisson was able to make two strong saves to keep the Evangels off the board.
  • The Drovers added some insurance with 10:03 remaining in the match when a Drovers throw bounced off the head of an Evangels player and Mackenzie Holub was able to dribble around a pair of Evangels defenders before slipping a shot just past Starwalt trying to crash at the point of attack inside the left post, bringing the score to 2-0.
  • Science & Arts added one more in the 86^th minute after the Evangels were called for a foul in the box, setting up the Drovers for a penalty kick. The NAIA's leading goal scorer Emma Rice was able to slip the free attempt inside the left post to wrap up the 3-0 final.

MATCH SUMMARY

• Mid-America Christian struggled to slow down the aggressive Science & Arts attack as the Drovers outshot the Evangels 23-7 with a 12-2 margin in shots on-goal. The Drovers also attempted more corner kicks than MACU with nine taken by the Drovers and just two for MACU.
• Senior goalkeeper Jennifer Starwalt made a season-high nine saves, but fell to 6-4 on the season after conceding three goals.
• Johanna Behrens and Veronica Lopez Cordero led the Evangels offensively with two shots apiece, one of each landing on-goal.
• The Evangels have dropped their last two home matches to USAO after the team picked up its first win in 11 years over the Drovers back on Mar. 13.
• Mid-America Christian fell to 6-4 on the season and 3-1 in Sooner Athletic Conference play while the Drovers improved to 10-3 overall in 4-0 against SAC foes.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be back at home on Oct. 16 as the Evangels will host Texas Wesleyan for a 5 p.m. kickoff at the Mike & Helen Dill Soccer Field.