OKLAHOMA CITY – Senior forward Liz Lozano led the second-seeded Mid-America Christian women's soccer team with a pair of goals as the Evangels defeated No. 7 seed Central Christian 4-1 in the Sooner Athletic Conference Quarterfinal at Evangel Field on Thursday night.
 

SCORING SUMMARY

• First Half
  • MACU – 9:23 – Goal: Liz Lozano (15), Assist: Johanna Behrens – MACU 1, CCC 0
  • MACU – 16:23 – Goal: Liz Lozano (16), Assist: Johanna Behrens – MACU 2, CCC 0
  • MACU – 38:28 – Goal: Alex White (3) – MACU 3, CCC 0
• Second Half
  • CCC – 73:38 – Goal: Alexa Riddle (19), Assist: Samantha Carachure – MACU 3, CCC 1
  • MACU – 85:26 – Goal: Marga Franco (4), Assist: Paola Camacho – MACU 4, CCC 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • In the 10^th minute, Marga Franco found Liz Lozano breaking toward the 18-yard box on a breakaway, but Lozano's first shot was blocked by CCC goalkeeper Goldie Bougher making a sliding save at the edge of the goal box. Johanna Behrens was able to track down the loose ball and pass it back to Lozano open from 10 yards out, blasting a shot into the middle of the net just seconds later to make it a 1-nil MACU advantage.
  • During the 17^th minute, Behrens was able to steal a centering pass toward the right side. Behrens along with Lozano passed it back and forth on a breakaway and Lozano finished the run after Behrens tapped a pass toward the right post and Lozano fired in a 10-yard shot to extend the lead to two.
  • With just under seven minutes remaining in the first half, Mid-America Christian extended its lead to three. Kanasa Spybuck's cross from the right side to Joanne Nakirya was cleared away, but Alex White was able to corral the cleared pass and sailed a beautifully launched, left-footed 25-yard shot from center to the top left corner of the goal over the outstretched arms of the keeper.
• Second Half
  • Lozano's best shot at getting the hat trick came in the 50^th minute when Kyleigh Gibson broke down the right side and sent a well-placed centering cross to the right side of the box. However, Lozano's open header narrowly missed high and wide of the right corner of the goal.
  • Central Christian got a goal back when Alexa Riddle tracked down a deep send to the right side of the box and fired a well-placed lob shot to the top left corner of the goal for the Tigers only score of the contest with 16:23 remaining in the match.
  • With just under five minutes remaining, the Evangels added one more for good measure. On a breakaway down the right side, Behrens sent a cross into the middle of the box that glanced off a Tigers defender to the left side. Paola Camacho tracked it down and lifted a pass into the air for Kyleigh Gibson to head in, but was knocked back to Camacho. Instead of going back toward the middle, Camacho dished it out to Marga Franco just outside the 18-yard box as she blasted a high-arching shot from 25 yards out from the left side to the right post to cap the scoring at 4-1.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian dominated the offensive possession attempting 29 shots to just three for Central Christian. Of those shots, 13 of MACU's attempts landed on-goal while the Tigers were only able to muster two on-target shots.
• With her sixth game-winner of the season, Liz Lozano moved alone into second on MACU's NAIA Era single season game-winning goals list, placing her just one back of Brittney Stephens' 2007 record.
• Senior midfielder Alex White scored her third goal of the season on Senior Night. Before the start of the match, the Evangels held a ceremony for its four graduating seniors: White, Rachael Bond, Aubrey Robins and Makayla Lein.
• Mid-America Christian has now won three matches in a row against Central Christian and four of its last five against the Tigers since 2015.
• The Evangels will advance to their second straight SAC Semifinal after defeating Oklahoma City 1-0 in the 2019 quarterfinal at Evangel Field on Nov. 9.

NEXT UP

• Mid-America Christian will face third-seeded Science & Arts in a rematch of last season's SAC Semifinal on Monday. This time, the matchup will be played at Evangel Field with kickoff slated for 7 p.m.