OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 1 seed MACU men's soccer team is set for its first ever NAIA Tournament Quarterfinal match as the Evangels will face off against No. 20 Rio Grande (Ohio) at the Jack Allen Soccer Complex in Decatur, Ala. at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 19-1-2
• Last Match: Won vs. No. 17 Oklahoma Wesleyan – 2-0 – Nov. 19, 2022 – Dill Soccer Field (NAIA Tournament – Second Round)
• Top Performers:
  • Rodrigo Albuquerque – GR – F
    • 14 Goals, 4 Assists, 32 Points, 58 Shots, 28 SOG, 4 GWG
  • Ricardo Ferreira – SO – F
    • 11 Goals, 4 Assists, 26 Points, 42 Shots, 23 SOG, 5 GWG
  • Jack Price – SR – M
    • 7 Goals, 7 Assists, 21 Points, 43 Shots, 22 SOG, 2 GWG
  • Diego Real – FR – M
    • 1 Goal, 11 Assists, 13 Points, 25 Shots, 7 SOG
  • Jeremi Abonnel – SO – GK
    • 18-1-2 W-L, 0.44 GAA, 49 Saves, .845 SV%, 12 SHO, 2 CBO
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian is coming off a thrilling 2-0 victory over No. 17 Oklahoma Wesleyan on its home turf in the NAIA Tournament Second Round matchup on Nov. 19. Rodrigo Albuquerque netted the game-winning goal on an incredible turnaround half-volley shot in the 80^th minute before Francois Geris-Rey gave the Evangels some insurance in the 87^th minute with his first goal of the season.
  • The Evangels are competing at the NAIA Tournament final site for the third time in program history. The first time MACU made it came in 2018 after defeating Kansas Wesleyan 2-1 in the opening round before falling to eventual national champion Central Methodist (Mo.) in the Round of 16.
  • On MACU's second trip to nationals, the Evangels won a 4-2 penalty kick shootout after forcing a 2-2 draw against Morningside (Iowa) due largely in-part to Mason Gonzalez scoring the equalizer with 1:22 remaining in regulation. The Evangels followed it up with a thrilling 3-2 win over host Bethel (Tenn.) when Mandela Singh-Sharpe blasted the golden goal from 30-yards out to the left post with 1:55 to in overtime. However, the Evangels came up just short of advancing to the quarterfinal after falling 1-0 to St. Thomas (Fla.) in the play-in round.
  • The Evangels enter the quarterfinal as the best defensive team remaining in the tournament as the 0.41 goals allowed average ranks as the second-best in the NAIA, sitting only behind Viterbo (Wis.), who was eliminated in the First Round.

SCOUTING REPORT
No. 20 Rio Grande (Ohio)

• Record: 17-3-2
• Last Match: Won vs. No. 10 William Carey (Miss.) – 4-2 – Nov. 29, 2022 – Decatur, Ala. (NAIA Tournament – Play-In Round)
• Series vs. MACU: First Meeting
• Last Match vs. MACU: N/A
• Players to Watch:
  • Gabriel Silva – SO – F
    • 21 Goals, 10 Assists, 52 Points, 91 Shots, 45 SOG, 3 GWG
  • Vilius Labutis – JR – M
    • 16 Goals, 7 Assists, 39 Points, 51 Shots, 28 SOG, 6 GWG
  • Altan Sayar – FR – M
    • 16 Goals, 4 Assists, 36 Points, 65 Shots, 38 SOG, 2 GWG
  • Daniel Merino Correa – SR – GK
    • 11-3-2 W-L, 1.09 GAA, 52 Saves, .732 SV%, 6 SHO
• Team Notes:
  • Rio Grande enters the NAIA Quarterfinal round on a hot streak. After going through a three-game losing streak in the middle of September, the Red Storm have gone 14-0-2 in their last 16 games, which includes a 3-1 win over No. 17 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) in the first round, a 1-0 victory over No. 3 Central Methodist (Mo.) in the second round and a 4-2 win over No. 10 William Carey (Miss.) in the play-in round.
  • The matchup will feature the nation's best scoring offense against the NAIA's second-best scoring defense as the Red Storm are the only team in the NAIA to net more than 100 goals with 107 on a 4.86 per game average.
  • URG's offense is balanced across the board with five players netting 10 or more goals, led by sophomore striker Gabriel Silva, who has tallied the sixth-most goals in the NAIA with 21 and the third-most total points with 52.
  • It is the first time Mid-America Christian and Rio Grande will be facing each other in the two program's respective histories.
  • The winner of the match will move on to the semifinal round, which will be played at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Jack Allen Soccer Complex.