OKLAHOMA CITY – Despite the No. 1 Mid-America Christian men's soccer team needing to play 58 minutes with just 10-men on the field, the top-ranked Evangels were able to come out on-top when
Georg Westerlund booted in the game-winner in the 82
nd minute to propel MACU to a 2-1 victory over John Brown at the Dill Soccer Field on Tuesday night.
SCORING SUMMARY
MATCH SUMMARY
- After getting his first shot on-goal blocked and eventually saved by JBU goalkeeper Kyle Hix in the fifth minute, Mid-America Christian senior midfielder Jack Price was able to capitalize on his opportunity in the 11th minute. After Bruno Sperandio relayed a cross from right of box toward the middle to Georg Westerlund, he flicked it to Price, who rifled a 17-yarder inside the left post to make it a 1-0 MACU lead.
- In the 30th minute, MACU had a golden opportunity when the Golden Eagles were called for a foul inside the box after Ricardo Ferreira was pulled down by a JBU defender. However, Ferreira's penalty kick toward the left post was saved by Hix, keeping it to a one-goal game.
- Mid-America Christian found itself fighting an uphill battle in the 32nd minute when Luan Cesar was issued his second yellow card of the match, forcing the Evangels to play with 10-men for the next 58:34.
- MACU goalkeeper Jeremi Abonnel was able to stop a pair of JBU goals in the 33rd and 42nd minutes, but the Golden Eagles were able to find the equalizer just before the half.
- After a foul was called on MACU from 24 yards out on the right side of the box, John Brown's Ivan Garcia slipped a free kick just past the MACU wall and inside the right post with 30 seconds remaining to make it a 1-1 game at the half.
- With JBU having a man advantage, they were able to force a pair of shots on-frame in the 53rd minute from Erick Diaz and in the 62nd minute from Jacob Zamarron, but Abonnel was able to make a pair of easy stops to keep it even.
- Neither team would have an on-target opportunity over the next 20 minutes until the Evangels found the game-winner.
- In the 82nd minute, Price intercepted a pass on the left side before relaying it ahead to Rodrigo Ferreira. After making an incredible spinning back heel pass back to Price breaking into the box, Price tried slipping a shot in toward the right post that was initially saved by Hix. On the rebound, Westerlund ran down the free ball and punched in the game-winner from six yards out to seal MACU's 2-1 victory.
- MACU did have an opportunity to add an insurance goal in the 87th minute, but Kelt Jager's header was stopped by Hix.
- John Brown put together one last offensive gasp in the final 30 seconds as Tomas Perrachon and Zamarron got shots off, but the MACU defense blocked both attempts to secure the victory.
MATCH NOTES
- Even with the one-man disadvantage, Mid-America Christian was still able to hold a 15-14 shooting advantage over the top-scoring team in the Sooner Athletic Conference, including holding a 7-5 margin in shots on-goal.
- Freshman forward Georg Westerlund led the MACU offensive attack with his first three-point match of the season with the game-winning goal and an assist. The goal was his fourth of the season and his second winner of the year while the assist was his first of the season.
- Jack Price's first half score was also his fourth goal of the season while Bruno Sperandio also tallied his first assist of the year.
- Despite conceding just his third goal of the year, Jeremi Abonnel earned his 12th win of the season after tallying four saves for an .800 save percentage.
- The win over John Brown marked MACU's sixth consecutive victory over the Golden Eagles.
- The victory improved Mid-America Christian's record to 12-1-1 overall and moved to 5-0-1 in SAC play. The defeat for John Brown dropped the Golden Eagles to 7-2-3 overall and 3-2-1 in league play.
- With 16 conference points, Mid-America Christian maintained a two-point lead in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings after Southwestern Christian leapfrogged Oklahoma City after the Eagles picked up a 3-1 win against the Stars.
UP NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will be back at home on Saturday night to celebrate Senior Night at the Dill Soccer Field. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
- The Evangels will hold a ceremony to honor its graduating seniors immediately following the conclusion of the women's game.
