OKLAHOMA CITY – Coming off its best season in Sooner Athletic Conference play, the Mid-America Christian women's soccer team will be looking to replicate that success this fall as the Evangels were voted by the league's 10 coaches to finish third in the SAC preseason poll on Thursday.
Overall, the Evangels received 65 points, placing just 15 behind SAC favorite John Brown and seven back of Science & Arts for second. MACU notched 10 more votes than Oklahoma City in fourth while Texas Wesleyan tallied a fifth-place total of 48 in the preseason standing.
While the 2020 conference season was moved to the spring due to COVID-19, the Evangels persevered by putting together an astounding 8-1 conference record to place second in the standings while finishing the year with a 15-3 overall record.
The Evangels had one of the most prolific offenses in the NAIA, as their 4.39 goals per game was rated as the third-highest in the nation, their 79 total goals scored were the most in program history and defensively, their 0.8 goals allowed per game tied the program-record low set during the 2010 campaign.
MACU returns six of its top seven goal scorers from last season, headlined by NCCAA First Team All-American Kelsey Henry. The 5-5 senior forward from Trinidad & Tobago closed out the 2020-21 campaign by scoring the fourth-most goals (14) and tallying the fourth-most total points (33) in the SAC.
The Evangels also bring back another top 10 goal scorer in junior forward Kyleigh Gibson, who netted 12 goals and five assists for 29 points while senior reserve forward Joanne Nakirya provided quality striking off the bench with 11 goals and three assists.
Defensively, Mid-America Christian will be looking for another big year out of fifth-year starting goalkeeper Jennifer Starwalt. During the 2020-21 school year, the Moore, Okla. product allowed a career-record low 14 goals (0.80 GAA) and notched a career-high nine shutouts on a .731 save percentage.
Mid-America Christian will start off its season with a scrimmage against Seminole State (Okla.) on Friday, Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. at Evangel Field. The Evangels will play their first official match at Evangel Field on Aug. 28 as MACU hosts MidAmerica Nazarene for a 5 p.m. kickoff.
