OKLAHOMA CITY – In a career full of stellar goals, the winner that senior forward Kyleigh Rushing put through in the 63^rd minute maybe one of the best as her 30-plus yard strike advanced the MACU women's soccer team by defeating Central Christian 1-0 in the Sooner Athletic Conference Quarterfinal at the Mike & Helen Dill Soccer Field on Saturday night.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• MACU – 62:12 – Goal: Kyleigh Rushing (5), Assist: Kelsey Henry – MACU 1, CCCK 0

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Mid-America Christian had the first chance to take the lead in the 10^th minute when Marga Franco ran down a loose ball on the right side of the goal box and rifled an open shot from 16-yards out. However, her attempted pinged off the top of the crossbar and out for a goal kick.
  • Central Christian had a great chance at a go-ahead goal in the 35^th minute, but Jennifer Starwalt made a phenomenal save on Alexa Riddle's header by getting a hand on the shot and deflecting it so that it redirected off the crossbar, keeping the match scoreless.
  • MACU had another great chance in the 38^th minute when Franco delivered a stellar corner toward the left post, but Kelsey Henry's header bounced off the bottom of the crossbar and back into the field of play before being cleared away by the Tigers defense.
  • The Evangels had another great opportunity go off the crossbar just moments later when Kadin Stinson crossed it from the right side of the box toward Abigail McCain, but her eight-yard flick went over a sliding Central Christian defender and off the top of the crossbar, keeping it to a scoreless tie heading into the half.
• Second Half
  • The Evangels were able to force quite a few of shots on-goal through the first 17 minutes, placing six on-frame, but CCCK goalkeeper Lizbeth Garcia was able to notch saves on all of them.
  • In the 63^rd minute, the Evangels were finally able to find the back of the net. After Henry was able to retrieve a ball that deflected off a Central Christian defender, she delivered a pass to a wide open Rushing breaking down the right side. From 30 yards out, Rushing launched a keep ball toward the Tigers goal, but Garcia was only able to get a piece of Rushing's shot that glanced off the keeper's hand and into the back of the net to make it a 1-0 game.
  • Central Christian had a few opportunities down the stretch to score the equalizer, but MACU keeper Jennifer Starwalt was able to make three saves over the final 13 minutes to seal the 1-0 victory.

MATCH NOTES

• Despite scoring just one goal, the Evangels were effectively able to place 23 shots in the contest with 14 landing on-goal while the Tigers finished with 14 shots, half of which were on-target.
• Kyleigh Rushing's phenomenal score was her fifth of the season and the 31^st of her Evangels career. It was also her first game-winner and the 11^th in her three seasons of action.
• Kelsey Henry notched the assist on the goal, her fourth of the season to bring her team-leading point total on the year to 20.
• Jennifer Starwalt pitched her fourth shutout of the season, notching seven saves, the most saves she's made in a shutout during the 2021 campaign.
• With the victory, Mid-America Christian improved to 10-6 on the season. Ever since the 2010 season, it marked the ninth time in the last 13 years the Evangels have notched double-digit wins in a season.
• It was the third straight time the Evangels had advanced out of the SAC Quarterfinal round after MACU defeated Central Christian 4-1 in the 2020-21 quarters on Apr. 1 and getting a 1-0 win over Oklahoma City on Nov. 9, 2019.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will now head to Siloam Springs, Ark. for their fourth match this season at Alumni Field as the Evangels will take on top-seeded and nationally No. 6 John Brown for a 6 p.m. kickoff on Tuesday, Nov. 9.