KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After earning an automatic berth after defeating Central Christian in the Sooner Athletic Conference Championship match on Apr. 9, the No. 17 Mid-America Christian men's soccer team was selected to compete in the NAIA Opening Round from Apr. 22-24.
The Evangels were placed as the No. 3 seed in the McKenzie, Tenn. bracket and will take on second-seeded, No. 16 Morningside (Iowa) in the first round at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
It is the second time in the last three seasons that MACU earned an automatic berth after winning the SAC Championship against No. 20 Science & Arts in 2018.
Much like that 2018 season where the Evangels defeated the Drovers in the postgame shooting 5-3 after playing to a 1-1 draw, Mid-America Christian needed to win in a shootout once again in this year's final after playing the Tigers to a scoreless draw through 110 minutes of play.
Unlike that last championship match, the Evangels wouldn't need all of their penalty kicks to pull out the victory as Luan Cesar, Dejue Johnson and Mason Gonzalez converted their attempts while goalkeeper Sven van den Oever made a pair of diving saves on-top of a CCC shot that sailed high, propelling MACU to the 3-0 win.
The Evangels will be looking for a similar result to its 2018 trip to the NAIA Opening Round. Facing Kansas Wesleyan in Salina, Kan. on Nov. 17, 2018, the Evangels got a pair of first half goals from Djibil Fofana and Oliver May before hanging on for the 2-1 victory to advance to the NAIA Championship Tournament in Irvine, Calif.
Mid-America Christian wrapped up the SAC Tournament with a 14-3-2 overall record and finished second in the SAC standings with a 6-1-1 record, notching the second-most wins in a single season since the program joined the NAIA in 2008 and matching its best placement ever in the SAC standings.
It is the first time the NAIA will be holding its soccer championships in the spring after the championships were moved from the fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If the Evangels can defeat the Mustangs in Thursday's match, MACU will play the winner of top-seeded, No. 8 Bethel (Tenn.) and No. 4 seed LSU-Alexandria on Saturday for the right to compete in the championship tournament being held in Columbia County, Ga. from May 4-10.
