OKLAHOMA CITY – Coming off an 8-0 start to the season, the No. 5 Mid-America Christian men's soccer team will be looking to keep things rolling into Sooner Athletic Conference play as the Evangels will head uptown tonight to take on Oklahoma City for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Brian Harvey Field.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 8-0
• Last Match: Won vs. No. 22 Morningside (Iowa) – 3-1 – Sept. 25, 2021 – Oklahoma City, Okla. (Mike & Helen Dill Soccer Field)
• Stat Leaders:
  • Rodrigo Albuquerque – SR – F
    • 8 Goals, 4 Assists, 20 Points, 38 Shots, 23 SOG, 3 GWG
  • Ricardo Ferreira – FR – F
    • 5 Goals, 3 Assists, 13 Points, 16 Shots, 10 SOG, 1 GWG
  • Cesar Ramirez – SR – M
    • 7 Assists, 7 Points, 22 Shots, 5 SOG
  • Jeremi Abonnel – FR – GK
    • 8-0 Record, 1.12 GAA, 16 Saves, .640 SV%
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian wrapped up non-conference play with an unblemished record and played a high-quality schedule, facing four teams ranked in the NAIA Top 25. The latest came in a 3-1 victory over No. 22 Morningside on Saturday, a rematch of the first match in the NAIA Opening Round this spring.
  • The Evangels got a quality performance from junior forward Jack Price off the bench, scoring the game-winning goal against the Mustangs in the 68^th minute while also notching an assist on the goal scored by Adrian Heinle in the 37^th minute. As a result, Price was awarded the SAC Offensive Player of the Week while his teammate Dejue Johnson was also awarded the SAC Defensive Player of the Week.
  • As a team, Mid-America Christian currently ranks 17^th in the NAIA in goals per game (3.5) and 15^th in shots per game (19.6).

SCOUTING REPORT
Oklahoma City

• Record: 6-1
• Last Match: Won vs. Bacone (Okla.) – 20-1 – Sept. 16, 2021 – Muskogee, Okla.
• Series vs. MACU: OCU leads 11-2-3
• Last Match vs. MACU: Tied 1-1 – Mar. 16, 2021 – Oklahoma City, Okla. (Mike & Helen Dill Soccer Field)
• Stat Leaders:
  • Tommaso Belli – SO – F
    • 12 Goals, 4 Assists, 28 Points, 30 Shots, 19 SOG, 6 GWG
  • Ljubisa Palic – SR – F
    • 10 Goals, 5 Assists, 25 Points, 30 Shots, 16 SOG
  • Lucas de Freitas – SR – F
    • 5 Goals, 3 Assists, 18 Points, 20 Shots, 12 SOG
  • Danilo Vilani – SR – GK
    • 6-1 Record, 1.05 GAA, 14 Saves, .667 SV%, 2 Shutouts
• Team Notes:
  • Oklahoma City will be competing in its first match in 12 days as the Stars are coming off a 20-1 victory at Bacone (Okla.) on Sept. 16. In that match, Ljubisa Palic scored six goals and had three assists for an astounding 15 points in the match.
  • That scoring outburst by the Stars allowed OCU to climb to second in the NAIA in scoring average (5.29 gpg) while still holding opponents to only 1.14 goals allowed per game.
  • Sophomore forward Tommaso Belli is the leading goal-scorer in the NAIA with 12 so far on the season, four of which coming in OCU's win at Bacone.
  • The last three matchups between the two teams has been tightly contested. The Evangels picked up a 2-0 victory over OCU in the SAC Quarterfinals back on Nov. 3, 2018 with both goals coming off the foot of Allan Sorato. The last time the two teams met at Brian Harvey Field, Pero Mikulic scored the go-ahead goal in the 75^th minute before OCU answered in the 78^th minute as the game eventually ended in a 1-1 draw. When the two teams last faced each other back on Mar. 16 at MACU, Endri Copa put across the game-tying goal in the 85^th minute as the match eventually ended again in a 1-1 draw.