OKLAHOMA CITY – The nationally ninth-ranked Mid-America Christian men's soccer team overcame an early deficit to defeat Friends University 5-1 at home on Tuesday night.
Before the start of the contest, Mike & Helen Dill were presented an autographed jersey and two autographed game balls from the men's and women's soccer teams as the field was officially renamed the Mike & Helen Dill Soccer Field for their generous contributions to the MACU soccer programs.
SCORING SUMMARY
MATCH SUMMARY
- Friends was able to gain the early advantage by putting in a header off a corner kick in the first four minutes, but the Evangels found an equalizer in the 37th minute. Cesar Ramirez was able to track down a loose ball headed out of the 18-yard box by the Falcons defense on the right side of the box. He then launched a deep cross toward the left post as Luan Cesar was in the right position to head in the game-tying goal with 8:44 to go in the half.
- Bruno Sperandio was able to give MACU the advantage heading into the halftime break. With 1:14 to go, Rodrigo Albuquerque was able thread the needle between two defenders to Sperandio at the top of the 18-yard box. The junior midfielder dribbled down the left side of the box and fired a rocket past the keeper toward the right post to make it a 2-1 game heading into the break.
- In the 56th minute, Mateus Pasquantonio netted his first goal for the Evangels to give MACU some breathing room. On a right side corner kick, Ramirez launched the free kick into the left side of the box, finding the head of Salvador Perez. The ball re-directed to the middle of the box where Pasquantonio had the easy tap-in to extend the MACU edge to 3-1.
- On-top of Pasquantonio's first goal, freshman forward Ricardo Ferreira also tallied his first goal of his Evangels career in the 64th minute. On the play, sophomore forward Adrian Heinle made a stellar steal down the left sideline and dribbled through three defenders in the 18-yard box. Heinle was able to find Ferreira cutting toward the left post and he redirected a shot toward the right post to extend the lead to 4-1.
- After scoring his stellar game-winning goal in the 44th minute, Sperandio added one more for good measure in the 66th. On a breakaway down the middle, Enrique Ruiz Diaz sent an outlet down the left sideline for Eugenio Garcia Guerra. Before reaching the baseline, Guerra dished it toward the middle of the six-yard box for Sperandio, who flipped a shot toward the right side of the net to cap the match scoring.
MATCH NOTES
- Mid-America Christian dominated both offensively and defensively in the match, outshooting Friends by a 31-2 margin with a 15-1 differential in shots on-goal. The Evangels were especially proficient in the second half, holding a 21-to-1 edge in the final 45 minutes.
- After scoring just one goal a season ago, Sperandio notched his first multi-goal match in his Evangels career, which included his first game-winner. Sperandio ended the match with three shots, two of which were on-target and found the back of the net.
- For the second time in his career, Cesar Ramirez recorded a pair of assists in the match. His last multi-assist match came in MACU's 2-2 draw with Morningside (Iowa) in the NAIA Opening Round on Apr. 22.
- Ramirez along with Albuquerque both attempted six shots for the match, as four of Albuquerque's attempts being put on-frame.
- Freshman goalkeeper Jeremi Abonnel improved to 2-0 in-goal.
UP NEXT
- The Evangels will head to the east coast this weekend for two of their toughest matches of the season at the Grizzly Classic. MACU will open the event with an 11 a.m. match against Tennessee Wesleyan on Saturday, Sept. 4 in Lawrenceville, Ga.
