FAYETTE, Mo. – The No. 22 Mid-America Christian men's soccer team gave a strong challenge to the top-ranked team in the NAIA, but Central Methodist scored a pair of second half goals to pull out a 3-1 home win at Davis Field on Tuesday.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half
  • CMU – 27:51 – Goal: Markus Esko (1), Assist: Jayton Johnson – CMU 1, MACU 0
  • MACU – 32:18 – Goal: Mason Gonzalez (5), Assist: Rodrigo Albuquerque – MACU 1, CMU 1
• 2^nd Half
  • CMU – 53:53 – Goal: Clayton Duarte (1), Assist: Carlos Scheckermann – CMU 2, MACU 1
  • CMU – 60:24 – Goal: Christian Sanchez (6) - CMU 3, MACU 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• 1^st Half
  • With both teams clamping down defensively in the first 27 minutes, Central Methodist (13-1) was the first to break into the scoring column in the 28^th minute on Markus Esko's goal.
  • Mid-America Christian (10-2) got the equalizer in the 33^rd minute when Rodrigo Albuquerque tracked down a deep ball that went off the head of a CMU defender on the right side of the box. Albuquerque found Mason Gonzalez breaking to the middle of the box and he fired it into the top-right corner of the net to make it 1-1.
  • The Evangels had a chance on scoring a last second goal as Gonzalez broke away down the middle of the field but with time winding down, CMU goalkeeper Stefano Camerlengo made a phenomenal save just before time expired to send it into the break at a 1-1 tie.
• 2^nd Half
  • The Eagles' Clayton Duarte scored the game-winner in the 54^th minute on a header, making it a 2-1 CMU advantage.
  • Central Methodist netted an insurance goal in the 61^st minute to extend its lead to two.
  • The Evangels were unable to muster any goal-scoring opportunities the remainder of the match as CMU held on for its 13^th win of the season.

MATCH NOTES

• After outshooting Central Methodist 6-5 in the opening half, the Evangels struggled to muster an attack against the Eagles in the second half, getting outshot 6-0 in the final 45 minutes of regulation.
• In just his fifth match with the Evangels, Mason Gonzalez scored his fifth goal of the season while the assist for Albuquerque extended his team-lead to seven, boosting his point total to 33 on the year.
• The Evangels suffered their first defeat since their 3-2 loss to Science & Arts on Oct. 23. MACU had a six-match winning streak going into their matchup with the top-ranked team in the country.

NEXT UP

• Mid-America Christian will get the opportunity to get back on the winning track and avenge its first loss of the season as the Evangels will head to Chickasha, Okla. on Saturday to take on Science & Arts for a 7 p.m. kickoff.