OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 9 Mid-America Christian men's soccer team will face a pair of tough teams at the Labor Day Grizzly Classic, hosted by Georgia Gwinnett this weekend. The Evangels will open the tournament with a 4 p.m. (CST) matchup against Tennessee Wesleyan on Saturday before facing No. 16 Georgia Gwinnett in a battle of top 25 teams at 10:30 a.m. on Monday.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT (2021)

• Record: 2-0
• Last Match: Won vs. Friends (Kan.) – 5-1 – Aug. 31, 2021 – Oklahoma City, Okla. (Mike & Helen Dill Soccer Field)
• Stat Leaders:
  • Luan Cesar – SR – M
    • 2 Goals (1^st), 4 Points (1^st), 4 Shots (4^th), 2 SOG (4^th)
  • Bruno Sperandio – SR – M
    • 2 Goals (1^st), 4 Points (1^st), 4 Shots (4^th), 2 SOG (4^th), 1 GWG (1^st)
  • Mason Gonzalez – SR - F
    • 1 Goal (3^rd), 1 Assist (4^th), 3 Points (3^rd), 4 Shots (4^th), 3 SOG (2^nd), 1 GWG (1^st)
  • Rodrigo Albuquerque – SR - F
    • 2 Assists (1^st), 2 Points (4^th), 14 Shots (1^st), 7 SOG (1^st)
  • Jeremi Abonnel – FR – GK
    • 2-0 Record, 1.00 GAA (1^st), 1 Save (1^st), .333 SV% (1^st)
• Team Notes:
  • In its last match, Mid-America Christian battled back from an early 1-0 deficit by scoring five unanswered goals, three of which coming in the second half in a 5-1 victory over Friends (Kan.) on Aug. 31.
  • Senior midfielder Bruno Sperandio notched his first multi-goal match of his career with a pair of goals in the win, moving into the team lead with Luan Cesar, who notched a goal in the win over the Falcons as well.
  • Rodrigo Albuquerque, Rodrigo Ferreira and Cesar Ramirez are tied for the team lead in assists with a pair each.
  • The Evangels offensively rank 10^th in the NAIA in goals per game amongst teams that have played multiple matches, averaging 4.0 per contest.

SCOUTING REPORT
Tennessee Wesleyan

• Record: 1-1-1
• Last Match: Tied vs. No. 6 Uni. of the Cumberlands (Ky.) – 1-1 – Aug. 28, 2021 – Athens, Tenn.
• Series History: N/A
• Last Match vs. MACU: N/A
• Stat Leaders:
  • Harry Baggaley – SR – F
    • 1 Goal (1^st), 2 Points (1^st), 4 Shots (2^nd), 2 SOG (1^st), 1 GWG (1^st)
  • Billy Boag – SO - F
    • 1 Goal (1^st), 2 Points (1^st), 1 Shot, 1 SOG (4^th)
  • Dave Neijenhuis – SO – D
    • 1 Assist (1^st), 1 Point (3^rd), 2 Shots, 1 SOG (4^th)
  • Michael Garrihy – FR – GK
    • 1-0-1 Record, 0.45 GAA (1^st), 7 Saves (1^st), .875 SV% (1^st), 1 SHO (1^st)

• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian will be Tennessee Wesleyan's fourth ranked opponent to start off the 2021 season. After suffering a 3-0 defeat to No. 13 William Carey (Miss.) on Aug. 17, the Bulldogs upset No. 11 Dalton State (Ga.) 1-0 a week later. In its last match against No. 6 University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) on Aug. 28, TWU played to a 1-1 draw.
  • Senior forward Harry Baggaley has the lone game-winning goal for the Bulldogs so far this season, putting in an 88^th minute score in the TWU's 1-0 upset of Dalton State.
  • After taking over the starting goalkeeper role, Michael Garrihy has been phenomenal in the net for the Bulldogs, allowing just a 0.45 goals allowed average on a .875 save percentage.
  • Tennessee Wesleyan has been a strong men's soccer program over the last decade, posting winning seasons in nine of the last 10 years and reaching double-digit wins in eight of those campaigns.

#16 Georgia Gwinnett

• Record: 1-1-1
• Last Match: Lost @ No. 16 Mobile (Ala.) – 2-1 – Aug. 28, 2021 – Mobile, Ala.
• Series History: N/A
• Last Match vs. MACU:  N/A
• Stat Leaders:
  • Karim Tmimi – JR – F
    • 2 Goals (1^st), 1 Assist (1^st), 5 Points (1^st), 13 Shots (1^st), 5 SOG (1^st), 1 GWG (1^st)
  • Justin Acosta – FR - M
    • 1 Goal (2^nd), 1 Assist (1^st), 3 Points (2^nd), 1 Shot, 1 SOG
  • Marco Panaccione – SO – D
    • 1 Goal (2^nd), 2 Points (3^rd), 5 Shots (2^nd), 3 SOG (2^nd)
  • Matthew Wallace – SO – GK
    • 1-1-1 Record, 0.93 GAA (1^st), 9 Saves (1^st), .750 SV% (1^st), 1 SHO (1^st)
• Team Notes:
  • The 16^th-ranked Grizzlies of Georgia Gwinnett will head into the tournament with a 1-1-1 record and will face (RV) McPherson (Kan.) on Saturday before playing the Evangels on Labor Day.
  • GGC opened the season with a scoreless draw against Union (Ky.) on Aug. 24 before picking up its first win against Baker (Kan.) 4-1 in Mobile, Ala. on Aug. 27. The Grizzlies suffered their first loss of the season the following day against No. 18 Mobile (Ala.) 2-1 after giving up the game-winning goal in the 68^th minute.
  • Junior forward Karim Tmimi heads into the match as the team's primary striker with a team-high two goals and an assist off of 13 shots and five shots on-goal.
  • Georgia Gwinnett has been a perennial power in NAIA men's soccer for the past nine seasons. Since the program was established in 2012, the Grizzlies have compiled a 113-37-19 (.724) record, tallying double-digit wins in all nine seasons.