OKLAHOMA CITY – After playing to a nil-all draw through the first 45 minutes, the No. 2 Mid-America Christian men's soccer team turned on the jets in the second half as the Evangels netted three goals in the snow too pull away with a 3-0 victory over Science & Arts in the Sooner Athletic Conference Championship match at the Dill Soccer Field on Friday night. The win marked the Evangels third consecutive SAC Tournament title victory.
SCORING SUMMARY
- 2nd Half – MACU – 47:09 – Goal: Jack Price (6), Assists: Mason Gonzalez, Luan Cesar – MACU 1, USAO 0
- 2nd Half – MACU – 52:28 – Goal: Jack Price (7), Assist: Diego Real – MACU 2, USAO 0
- 2nd Half – MACU – 86:14 – Goal: Mason Gonzalez (7), Assist: Akira Ono, Diego Real – MACU 3, USAO 0
MATCH SUMMARY
- Despite battling against a strong north wind in the first half, Mid-America Christian put the first opportunity on-goal in the sixth minute. After the Drovers committed a foul from 35-yards out, Bruno Sperandio smashed a well-placed free kick into the middle of the box for Kareem Williams, but the header was popped up in the air as USAO keeper Louis Owens was able to make a routine save to keep it scoreless.
- Science & Arts' first shot opportunity came in the 18th minute when Justin Croke launched a left-side corner to the middle of the box for Callum Shepherd, but his header attempt sailed high of the crossbar.
- With both teams being limited offensively, the Drovers managed to put a shot on-frame late in the half. With 2:20 remaining, Dani Suarez won a ball from the MACU defense and found Justin Croke open, but his 26-yarder from the right side was saved by Sven van den Oever diving toward the right post.
- With the wind at their backs, the Evangels were able to find their offensive stride right out of the gate in the second half. In the 48th minute, Mason Gonzalez tackled the ball away from a Drovers defender in the midfield and delivered a give-and-go pass to Luan Cesar. After Cesar relayed the pass back to Gonzalez on the break, he slipped a pass in toward the left side for Jack Price, who fired in the game-winner inside the left post to bring the score to 1-nil.
- Five minutes later, Price struck again for MACU. After Diego Real intercepted a pass in the midfield, he sent the ball on a deep run down the right side for Price. With the keeper closing the angle and a defender dropping back, Price cut to his left and rifled a shot in toward the top middle just under the crossbar to set the score to 2-nil.
- In the 57th minute, Price had an opportunity at a hat trick when Georg Westerlund delivered an open cross from the left side to Price on the right, but he struck a low liner that went straight into the mitts of Owens.
- At the 64:28 mark, Rodrigo Ferreira utilized the strong breeze at his back following a Drovers foul call just past the midfield stripe. On his deep free kick, Ferreira put a lot of power behind his kick that was directed just underneath the middle of the crossbar, but Owens was able to push the shot just over the bar to force a MACU corner.
- In the 87th minute, the Evangels were essentially ice the game while battling through the snowy elements. After Price played a short left side corner to Real, the SAC Freshman of the Year delivered a phenomenal through ball to the left side for Akira Ono, who skipped an easy pass open to Gonzalez open in the middle of the box as he punched in the final score from six-yards out to secure the 3-0 result.
MATCH NOTES
- Mid-America Christian dominated the offensive possession by outshooting Science & Arts by a 16-5 margin with a 9-1 edge in shots on-goal. The Evangels were especially dominant in the second half with an 11-2 shot margin over the final 45 minutes.
- Jack Price led the MACU offensive attack with his second career multi-goal game with a pair of scores off six shots, four of which were on-frame. Price's last multi-goal match came in a 5-1 victory over Sterling (Kan.) on Sept. 14, 2021.
- SAC Player of the Year Mason Gonzalez made several big offensive and defensive plays throughout the match as he finished with a goal and an assist for three points. The score marked his seventh of the season, tying him with Price for third on MACU's goal-scoring list.
- SAC Freshman of the Year Diego Real continued to build on his legendary rookie campaign as he tallied a pair of assists to build his season total up to 11, tying teammate Rodrigo Ferreira (2021) for the second-most assists in a single season in the NAIA Era and needs just one more to match Cesar Ramirez for the top spot in the MACU record book.
- Senior midfielder Luan Cesar turned his third assist of the season to bring his season-point total to 11 on the year.
- Making his first start of the season, redshirt junior goalkeeper Sven van den Oever tallied MACU's 14th shutout of the 2022 campaign. Behind a stellar center-back tandem of Ricardo Sepulveda and Kareem Williams, van den Oever faced just one on-goal shot through the 90 minutes of regulation.
- Being just one of three teams the Evangels were unable to defeat during regular season play, Mid-America Christian was able to dispatch of the Drovers after the two teams played to a 1-1 draw at McLaughlin Field in Chickasha, Okla. on Oct. 14.
- The victory for the Evangels in the SAC title tilt marked their fourth conference title in the last five years. The three-goal margin of victory for MACU was also its largest in any of those championships as the Evangels won their first two SAC ships in postgame shootouts before topping Southwestern Christian 2-0 in last year's final.
- It was the second time Mid-America Christian topped Science & Arts in the league's championship game. The Evangels earned their first ever SAC title in 2018 when MACU played the Drovers to a 1-1 draw at McLaughlin Field. MACU then dominated the postgame shootout as Simon Van Rheeden booted in the winning goal to seal the 5-3 shootout victory.
UP NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will now prepare to host its first ever NAIA Opening Round at the Dill Soccer Field from Nov. 17-19. The semifinal matchups will take place on Thursday before the regional championship is played by the winning teams on Saturday.
