OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 2 Mid-America Christian men's soccer team will see a familiar foe in its NAIA Tournament First Round match slated for 5 p.m. at the Dill Soccer Field on Thursday night as the Evangels will face Bellevue (Neb.). The Evangels faced Bellevue during the regular season and came away with a 3-0 victory in Papillion Landing, Neb. on Sept. 20.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 17-1-2
• Last Match: Won vs. Science & Arts (Okla.) – 3-0 – Nov. 11, 2022 – Dill Soccer Field (SAC Championship)
• Top Performers:
  • Rodrigo Albuquerque – GR – F
    • 11 Goals, 4 Assists, 26 Points, 51 Shots, 24 SOG, 2 GWG
  • Ricardo Ferreira – SO – F
    • 11 Goals, 3 Assists, 25 Points, 41 Shots, 23 SOG, 5 GWG
  • Jack Price – SR – M
    • 7 Goals, 7 Assists, 21 Points, 40 Shots, 22 SOG, 2 GWG
  • Mason Gonzalez – SR – D
    • 7 Goals, 2 Assists, 16 Points, 20 Shots, 13 SOG, 3 GWG
  • Jeremi Abonnel – SO – GK
    • 16-1-2 W-L, 0.43 GAA, 43 Saves, .843 SV%, 12 SHO, 1 CBO
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian enters NAIA Tournament play by coming off its third straight Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament title victory after the Evangels scored three second half goals to top Science & Arts 3-0 at the Dill Soccer Field on Nov. 11.
  • In that win over the Drovers, Jack Price led the MACU offensive attack with his second multi-goal match of his career with a pair of scores while Mason Gonzalez chipped in a goal and an assist to go with a pair of dimes for the team's assists leader Diego Real.
  • Redshirt junior goalkeeper Sven van den Oever pitched his second career shutout in a SAC Championship game. After Jeremi Abonnel suffered a back injury prior to the game, van den Oever stepped in and recorded a save in the clean sheet. In MACU's SAC title run in 2020-21, van den Oever recorded a shutout in a 0-0 draw against Central Christian before making a pair of saves in the postgame shootout as the Evangels claimed a 3-0 PK shootout win over the Tigers on Apr. 9, 2021.
  • Mid-America Christian is competing in its fourth ever NAIA Tournament and are hosting the First and Second Round for the first time in program history. The Evangels will be looking to advance to the final site for the third time since making it through regional play for the first time in 2018.

SCOUTING REPORT
Bellevue (Neb.)

• Record: 7-10-3
• Last Match: Won vs. (RV) Florida National – 1-0 – Nov. 12, 2022 – Lawrenceville, Ga. (CAC Championship)
• Series vs. MACU (2020-): MACU leads 3-0
• Last Match vs. MACU: MACU won 3-0 – Sept. 20, 2022 – Papillion Landing, Neb.
• Players to Watch:
  • Jake Cover – SO – F
    • 7 Goals, 1 Assist, 15 Points, 29 Shots, 19 SOG, 2 GWG
  • Oumar Sissoko – SR – F
    • 6 Goals, 2 Assists, 14 Points, 35 Shots, 23 SOG, 3 GWG
  • Alvaro Moros Sanz – FR – F
    • 5 Goals, 3 Assists, 13 Points, 29 Shots, 10 SOG
  • Romeo Paparesta – FR – GK
    • 6-8-3 W-L, 1.02 GAA, 62 Saves, .775 SV%, 6 SHO, 2 CBO
• Team Notes:
  • After a tumultuous regular season that saw Bellevue go 4-10-3, the Bears caught fire just before the start of postseason play as BU picked up an 8-0 win over Waldorf (Iowa) on Nov. 2 to qualify for Continental Athletic Conference postseason tournament. In the CAC Semifinal, the Bears stunned No. 5 Georgia Gwinnett 1-0 on its home turf before topping Florida National 1-0 in the CAC Championship game to earn an automatic qualifying bid to the NAIA National Championship Tournament.
  • While the Bears have struggled to score goals on the season, netting just 32 scores (1.6 gpg), Bellevue features a top-of-the-line defense that has allowed just 24 goals (1.2 gpg) on 10.6 shots per contest.
  • A bulk of the BU offense has come from the trio of Jake Cover, Oumar Sissoko and Alvaro Moros Sanz, who have netted more than half of the Bears goals this season with 18 of the team's 32.
  • Freshman keeper Romeo Paparesta has been a strong stopper in-goal this season for the Bears, allowing just 1.02 goals per game and is saving 77.5 percent of the shots he faces. Paparesta has only conceded more than two goals in a game once this season with that match coming against MACU back on Sept. 20.
  • Mid-America Christian and Bellevue are no strangers as the two teams have faced off against each other in each of the past three seasons. The Evangels won the first two meetings by a pair of 2-1 scores at the Dill Soccer Field on Oct. 3, 2020 and the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kan. on Sept. 18, 2021 before getting the 3-nil victory in Nebraska earlier this season. In that victory, Jack Price scored the game-winner in the 78^th minute before Rodrigo Albuquerque added to it just a minute later before Cesar Ramirez put in the final score in the 84^th minute.
  • The winner of the match will advance to the championship match that will be played at 5 p.m. on Saturday with the victor advancing to the final site at the Jack Allen Soccer Complex in Decatur, Ala. from Nov. 29-Dec. 5

 
FIRST ROUND MATCHUP
 (2) No. 17 Oklahoma Wesleyan vs. (3) No. 25 Corban (Ore.)

Oklahoma Wesleyan

• Record: 14-5-2
• Last Match: Won vs. Saint Mary (Kan.) – 3-0 – Nov. 12, 2022 – Wichita, Kan. (KCAC Championship)
• Players to Watch:
  • Stefan Cvetanovic – SR – F
    • 27 Goals, 5 Assists, 59 Points, 98 Shots, 62 SOG, 4 GWG
  • Matteus Ferreira – SR – M
    • 7 Goals, 18 Assists, 32 Points, 27 Shots, 20 SOG, 2 GWG
  • Zlatan Ramic – FR – M
    • 9 Goals, 8 Assists, 26 Points, 35 Shots, 23 SOG, 3 GWG
  • Ilija Catic – SR – GK
    • 12-3-2 W-L, 1.41 GAA, 30 Saves, .667 SV%, 3 SHO, 1 CBO
• Team Notes:
  • After suffering a 3-0 defeat at No. 9 Missouri Valley to open the month of November, Oklahoma Wesleyan put together a strong finish to the season, defeating Bethany (Kan.) 1-0 in its regular season finale before topping McPherson (Kan.) 1-0 in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Semifinal and Saint Mary (Kan.) 3-0 in the KCAC Championship match on Nov. 12.
  • The Eagles are led by two of the nation's offensive leaders in senior forward Stefan Cvetanovic, who ranks second in all of the NAIA in goals scored with 27 while senior midfielder Matteus Ferreira has dished out the nation's second-most assists with 18 on the season.
  • Overall, Oklahoma Wesleyan is the NAIA's fourth-best scoring offense, averaging 3.33 goals per game and are the nation's leaders in total assists with 69 dimes.
  • The Eagles placed seven players on the All-KCAC Team at the conclusion of the regular season with Cvetanovic being named the KCAC Most Valuable Player, Ferreira garnered First Team honors alongside defender Alfeu Bertini and Uros Rosic while midfielders Ramic and Victor Crispim and goalkeeper Catic garnered Second Team acclaim.

Corban (Ore.)

• Record: 16-3-2
• Last Match: Lost vs. Oregon Tech – 2-0 – Nov. 9, 2022 – Springfield, Ore. (CCC Semifinal)
• Players to Watch:
  • Andres Labate – SO – M
    • 8 Goals, 8 Assists, 24 Points, 42 Shots, 24 SOG, 2 GWG
  • Alexis Luna – SO – M
    • 8 Goals, 8 Assists, 24 Points, 31 Shots, 17 SOG, 4 GWG
  • Edson Jimenez – SO – D
    • 8 Goals, 2 Assists, 18 Points, 32 Shots, 22 SOG, 3 GWG
  • Quinn McCallion – GR – GK
    • 16-3-1 W-L, 0.40 GAA, 40 Saves, .833 SV%, 14 SHO
• Team Notes:
  • Corban enters NAIA Tournament play as the 25^th-ranked team in the NAIA, boasting a 16-3-2 overall record and finished third in the Cascade Collegiate Conference with a 10-2-1 league mark. The Warriors had a tough finish to the regular season after getting off to a 14-1 start as CU went 2-2-1 in its final five games, which included a 2-0 defeat to Oregon Tech in the CCC Semifinal on Nov. 9.
  • On the offensive side of the ball, CU is led by the sophomore midfield tandem of Andres Labate and Alexis Luna, who have each netted eight goals and dished out eight assists for 24 points apiece.
  • Overall, Corban features one of the stingiest defenses in the nation as the Warriors have only conceded eight goals for a 0.40 goals allowed average, which is tied for the third-lowest average in the NAIA alongside Mid-America Christian. Quinn McCallion, who has played every minute in-goal for CU currently boasts the second-lowest GAA in the nation while his 14 shutouts lead all NAIA goalkeepers.
  • Oklahoma Wesleyan and Corban are facing each other for the third time in the last four years. The last time the two teams met came in Baldwin City, Kan. on Sept. 6, 2021 as the Eagles scored the game-winner in the 58^th minute to break a 1-all tie in a 2-1 victory for OKWU. It is the second time the two teams are meeting in the NAIA Tournament as the Eagles battled back from a 1-0 deficit to come away with a 2-1 victory in the Sweet 16 on Nov. 27, 2018.