OKLAHOMA CITY – It was another busy weekend for Mid-America Christian Athletics as five of its seven varsity teams competed over the weekend of Mar. 5-6.
Women's Soccer
OKLAHOMA CITY – By picking up a 3-0 victory over Wayland Baptist at Evangel Field on Saturday night, the Mid-America Christian women's soccer team improved to 4-0 in Sooner Athletic Conference play and 10-1 overall. Since joining the SAC in 2007, it was the first time the Evangels have won their first four conference games while also being the fastest team in that stretch to reach 10 wins.
Kyleigh Gibson scored her eighth career game-winning goal in the 13th minute when Liz Lozano was able to get her pass by the goalkeeper inside the eight-yard box, punching it in from point-blank range to make it a 1-nil Evangels advantage.
MACU added two more in the second half when Kelsey Henry scored her 10th goal of the season off a fantastic deep ball from the right side by Kanasa Spybuck as the ball bounced over the keeper and to Henry breaking to the middle, knocking the ball in with her knee from two yards out to bring it 2-0 with just over 23 minutes left to play.
Scoring her 13th goal in just seven matches, Lozano added one more for good measure in the 88th minute when she was able to dribble past her defender near the left sideline at midfield and break into the left side of the goal box, firing a 17-yard blast from the left side to just inside the left post out of the reach of the keeper to seal the win.
Senior goalkeeper Jennifer Starwalt reached a career milestone with her 40th win in goal as she continues to grow her lead as MACU's all-time wins leader at the position while it was her 22nd career shutout.
Mid-America Christian will look to avenge their only loss of the season next week as the Evangels will take on Science & Arts on Saturday, Mar. 13 in Chickasha, Okla.
Men's Soccer
OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 22 Mid-America Christian men's soccer team reached the 10-win plateau for the fourth straight year on Saturday night as the Evangels were able to move to 4-0 in Sooner Athletic Conference play with a 2-1 victory over Wayland Baptist.
The Evangels were able to score their first goal of the match in the 16th minute when Carlos Castrejon sent a corner kick from the left side into the six-yard box, finding the head of Endri Copa who put it into an open right side of the net to make it a 1-nil MACU advantage.
The Pioneers had an immediate answer when Marco Magnoli retrieved a header that was cleared out of the 18-yard box and fired a precision strike to just inside the right post, drawing the match even at 1-1 in the 18th minute.
The two teams remained tied until the 55th minute when Rodrigo Albuquerque was tackled on the run trying to break into the middle of the goal box, drawing a whistle from the official to set up a penalty kick.
On the attempt, Albuquerque was able to juke the keeper into diving to the left side before firing a strike to the middle of the net for his ever-growing season record eighth game-winning goal of the season.
Mid-America Christian will face its toughest test of the season on Tuesday, Mar. 9 as the Evangels will head to Fayette, Mo. to take on No. 1 ranked Central Methodist for a 1 p.m. match.
Softball
OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU softball team put together a strong performance at the Red Dirt Softball Classic hosted by Langston at the USA Softball Hall of Fame on Friday and Saturday. The Evangels went 2-2 in the event, picking up a pair of victories against McPherson (Kan.) and Texas A&M-San Antonio.
Despite suffering a heartbreaking 2-0 loss to undefeated Central Methodist in their first game of the event, the Evangels got a phenomenal performance from starting pitcher Katie Long. The senior hurler went the distance and struck out a career-high 12 batters, tying her with Caitlyn Ulmer and Regan Martin for the second-most strikeouts in a single game in the NAIA era.
The Evangels perhaps picked up their biggest win of the season later in the evening against perennial powerhouse McPherson. MACU put together a big four-run second inning and were able to hold off a late Bulldogs rally to come away with the 5-3 victory. Regan Martin picked up her third win of the season after giving up three earned runs in six innings while Long notched her first save in an Evangels uniform after tossing a scoreless seventh frame.
On Saturday, the Evangels struggled to get the bats going against Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) to open the day, registering just one hit in a 3-0 defeat to the Saints.
However, MACU was able to bounce back once again in a 4-2 victory over Texas A&M-San Antonio in its final matchup of the day. The Evangels scored three runs in the top of the first to hold the early advantage, but the Jaguars got a pair back in the bottom of the frame to cut the MACU lead to one.
Mid-America Christian got a big insurance run in the top of the third when Mikaylee Allen reached on a leadoff single and then advanced to second on a SAC bunt, setting up Kassie Martin for an RBI double to left, scoring Allen and making it a 4-2 MACU edge.
After getting off to a rocky start, Long settled down over the final five innings, allowing just three baserunners over that stretch before securing her second win of the season with the complete game win.
The Evangels will face a tough test on Tuesday, Mar. 9 as MACU will face No. 2 Science & Arts in a doubleheader in Chickasha, Okla. The opening game of that doubleheader is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
Baseball
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian baseball team struggled to slow down No. 16 Oklahoma City as the Evangels were swept in a doubleheader at Jim Wade Stadium, 11-2 and 4-1 on Saturday.
Grant Roberts led the MACU bats in the opening game, reaching base three times after going 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and a run scored while Andres Gonzalez also went 2-for-3. Yan Ely Adames came up with the lone RBI hit for the Evangels, notching the team's third home run of the season on a solo blast to left field in the top of the sixth.
The Evangels were able to keep the series finale close, but Stars put together a three-run fifth inning to push out to a 4-0 lead. MACU was able to get a run back in the top of the sixth after a Brandon Reese leadoff double, as he came around to score on Joe Balak's RBI double to left, but MACU could not generate any other offense the rest of the way.
Mid-America Christian will face another tough test next week as the Evangels will take on No. 2 Science & Arts in a three-game series. MACU will open the series in Chickasha, Okla. for a 6 p.m. first pitch.
Volleyball
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian volleyball team struggled on the attack against a very strong Wayland Baptist team as the Evangels were swept in straight sets to the Pioneers, 25-22, 25-19, 26-24 on Saturday afternoon inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
The Evangels could only muster a .048 attack percentage against the Pioneers as Hanna Foecker led the MACU attack with 12 kills, 13 digs and a pair of service aces. Morgan Van Meir finished with 25 assists while Maegan Plunk led the defense with 22 digs.
Mid-America Christian will close out its four-match home stand with another challenging foe on Monday as the Evangels will host Southwestern Assemblies of God for a 6 p.m. match on Monday, Mar. 8.
