OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 2 Mid-America Christian men's soccer team faced a stiff test from crosstown rival Oklahoma City on Senior Night as the two squads battled to a 2-2 draw at the Dill Soccer Field on Saturday night.
SCORING SUMMARY
MATCH SUMMARY
- Mid-America Christian dominated the possession throughout the first half, but were unable to get anything past the Oklahoma City defense until the 21st minute. On the go-ahead play, Ricardo Sepulveda centered a pass toward Rodrigo Ferreira in MACU's back field and then launched a deep ball to Rodrigo Albuquerque breaking away from the OCU defense. Albuquerque then slipped a 12-yarder past the keeper trying to crash at the point of attack, making it a 1-nil game.
- The Evangels continued to be opportunistic throughout the half, attempting 15 shots with four more being put on-target, but OCU goalkeeper Danilo Vilani tallied saves on all four on-frame attempts to keep it to a 1-0 game going into the half.
- Oklahoma City was able to push across a score on its first shot attempt of the game. In the 50th minute off a Gustavo Cardoso corner kick, the left side corner found the head of Ignacio Sarasol on the right side of the box as it bounced in through the right post to bring it even at 1-1.
- Jack Price and Bruno Sperandio were able to put a pair of shots on-frame in the 51st and 54th minutes, but the Evangels finally found the go-ahead goal in the 55th minute. Off some great footwork by Diego Real in the midfield, he delivered a pass on the run of Albuquerque down the left side, who centered it for Ricardo Ferreira. On a well-placed through ball into the 18-yard box, Ferreira found Jack Price, who punched in a 10-yarder past the keeper to make it a 2-1 game.
- In the 65th minute, the Stars were able to take advantage of a costly Evangels mistake. After Francois Geris-Rey sent a deep pass back toward Kelt Jager that went off the mark, one of OCU's top strikers Lucas de Freitas was able to run down the loose ball. With Abonnel coming out near the top of the box to try and stop de Freitas at the point of attack, he was able to flick a 23-yarder from the top of the box toward the left post, drawing the match even at 2-2.
- Mid-America Christian's best chances at a game-winner came in the 81st minute on a Bruno Sperandio free kick from 30-yards out that Vilani made a strong diving save toward the left post and in the 84th minute when Georg Westerlund got a look from 14-yards out on the right side of the box, but once again Vilani was able to knock down the shot to keep it tied.
- Oklahoma City put up one last chance in the final 10 seconds when Jusang Kang took a 30-yarder from the right side, but Jeremi Abonnel was able to make an easy save to end the match in a 2-all draw.
MATCH NOTES
- Despite the tied result, Mid-America Christian dominated the possession, outshooting Oklahoma City 26-10 with a 11-4 margin in shots on-goal.
- Rodrigo Albuquerque led the MACU offensive efforts with a goal and an assist for three points off of six shots and two shots on-goal. The goal for Albuquerque marked his 11th of the season while the assist was his fourth, bringing his season point total to 26.
- The assists on Albuquerque's go-ahead goal in the first half were Rodrigo Ferreira's second and Ricardo Sepulveda's first of the season.
- Jack Price became the third MACU player this season to net at least five goals while Ricardo Ferreira boosted his season point total to 19 with his third assist on the MACU score.
- Jeremi Abonnel was credited with the tie in-goal after playing all 90 minutes while conceding a season-high two goals and making a pair of saves.
- The two goals given up by the Evangels defense marked the first time all season that MACU conceded more than one goal in a match after giving up just three all year coming into the competition.
- The tie score marked the third time in the last four meetings that Mid-America Christian and Oklahoma City had played to a draw. The previous two draws came in a 1-1 decision at the Dill Soccer Field on Mar. 16, 2021 while the other was also a 1-1 score at Brian Harvey Field on Oct. 22, 2019.
- Even though Mid-America Christian only received a point for the draw, the Evangels maintained their lead in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings by moving to 5-0-2 in league play and 12-1-2 overall. The Evangels kept their two-point lead over Southwestern Christian (6-2-4, 4-0-3 SAC) after the Eagles battled Science & Arts to a 1-1 draw earlier in the day. Oklahoma City fell into a tie for third with John Brown (8-2-3, 4-2-1 SAC) at 13 conference points after the draw brought the Stars to 10-4-1 overall and 4-2-1 against league competition.
UP NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will play its final regular season home game on Tuesday, Oct. 25. The Evangels will face off against Southwestern Christian in a crucial SAC matchup with the last two unbeaten teams in conference play. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. at the Dill Soccer Field.
