COSTA MESA, Calif. – The Mid-America Christian men's soccer team fell behind early and the comeback efforts fell just short as Marymount California knocked off the undefeated Evangels 3-2 in the NAIA Opening Round played at Vanguard University on Thursday afternoon.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• MCU – 0:44 – Goal: Leonel Perez (9), Assist: Renan Lopes Monteiro – MCU 1, MACU 0
• MACU – 10:20 – Goal: Luan Cesar (10), Assist: Rodrigo Ferreira – MACU 1, MCU 1
• MCU – 15:24 – Goal: Bryan Villalobos (13) – MCU 2, MACU 1
• MCU – 18:35 – Goal: Cade Flanagan (7) – MCU 3, MACU 1
• MACU – 62:04 – Goal: Luan Cesar (11), Assist: Rodrigo Albuquerque – MCU 3, MACU 2

 
MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Marymount California was able to get on the board first after Renan Lopez Monteiro was able to take the ball away in the Evangels defensive third down the left side and then delivered a cross to the middle of the box for Leonel Perez for a 10-yard shot into the left side to make it a 1-0 match.
  • Mid-America Christian found the equalizer in the 11^th minute after a foul was called on the Mariners. On a free kick from the left side, Rodrigo Ferreira delivered a gorgeous deep ball into the middle of the box as Luan Cesar headed it in toward left post to bringing it to 1-1.
  • The Evangels found themselves in trouble as MCU pushed across a 16^th minute score from Bryan Villalobos and Cade Flanagan in the 19^th minute, giving the Mariners a 3-1 advantage.
  • MACU struggled to generate any offensive attack over the remaining 28 minutes, as the lone Evangels shot came high off the foot of Ricardo Ferreira in the 43^rd minute as MCU took its two-goal edge into the halftime break.
• Second Half
  • The Evangels cut into the Marymount lead in the 63^rd minute when Rodrigo Albuquerque broke down the left side of the box and delivered a cross to the middle of the box to Cesar as he punched in his second goal of the match.
  • Mid-America Christian controlled the possession for the rest of the half, but were only able to force two shots on-goal, coming from Ricardo Ferreira in the 73^rd minute and Albuquerque in the 85^th minute.

MATCH NOTES

• With the loss, Mid-America Christian fell to 19-1-1 on the season while Marymount California moved to 14-6-1 and advanced to the second round of the NAIA Tournament.
• In the defeat, the Evangels put together a strong second half offensive effort, outshooting the Mariners 12-5 to finish with a 16-12 edge in shots for the match. However, Marymount was able to place more attempts on-goal with a 7-6 margin.
• Luan Cesar led the Evangels attack with his first multi-goal match in his MACU career, boosting his season total to 11.
• The assist for Rodrigo Ferreira on the first goal marked his 11^th, moving alone into second place on MACU's single season record book behind Cesar Ramirez's team-leading 12 notched during the year.
• Rodrigo Albuquerque notched his ninth assist of the season to finish the 2021 campaign with a team-high 39 points.
• Freshman goalkeeper Jeremi Abonnel finished with four saves as he finished with MACU's second-most single season wins by an Evangels keeper at 19-1-1.