OKLAHOMA CITY – Coming off the MACU men's soccer program's deepest run in the NAIA Tournament in program history, head coach Danny Frid has resigned as the head coach to pursue another coaching opportunity at the collegiate level.
"My family and I are forever grateful to MACU for giving us an opportunity and will be MACU fans for life," Frid stated. "I have been so fortunate to work with a wonderful group of players during my time at the school and I look forward to watching them develop into fantastic young men over the coming years. Thank you so much to the staff for working tirelessly and pouring into the student-athletes to become better each and every day. MACU is a special place where I have developed friendships for the rest of my life. Go Evangels!"
In two seasons as the program's lead, Frid has guided the Evangels to an incredible 38-3-3 (.898) overall record, an undefeated 15-0-3 (.917) mark in Sooner Athletic Conference play. The Evangels have won both the SAC regular season and tournament titles in each of the last two seasons while qualifying for the NAIA Tournament in each of those seasons. As a result, Frid was named the SAC Coach of the Year in both 2021 and 2022.
"Danny has been top class in every way as the leader of our men's soccer program," said MACU Athletic Director Marcus Moeller. "He is a dynamic leader and has been an incredible head coach. Danny gave MACU his very best every day. We will miss him but we are very excited for the next step for him and his wife, Jordan. We wish them the very best as they tackle this next phase together!"
The 2022 season provided a lot of firsts for the MACU men's soccer program. Not only did the Evangels achieve the No. 1 ranking in the NAIA for the first time ever, the Evangels also hosted their first NAIA Tournament First and Second Round matches at the Dill Soccer Field.
After earning the program's second straight SAC regular season title with a 7-0-2 league mark, the Evangels followed it up with the team's fourth SAC Tournament Championship after defeating Science & Arts (Okla.) 3-0 at the Dill Soccer Field on Nov. 11.
Following the SAC tourney, the Evangels made their deepest NAIA Tournament push in program history as MACU topped Bellevue (Neb.) 2-1 in the First Round on Rodrigo Albuquerque's game-winning penalty kick with 23 seconds left before defeating No. 17 Oklahoma Wesleyan 2-0 on Nov. 19. As a result, MACU earned the top seed at the NAIA National Championships in Decatur, Ala. for the first time ever, but the Evangels dropped a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to No. 20 Rio Grande (Ohio) in the Quarterfinal on Dec. 1.
In his first season at the helm in 2021, the Evangels put together the winningest season in program history, wrapping up the campaign with a 19-1-1 (.929) record as the team won both the SAC regular season championship (8-0-1) and the SAC Tournament title after defeating Southwestern Christian (Okla.) on Nov. 11.
The Evangels earned their first ever No. 1 seed in the NAIA Tournament First and Second Round in the Costa Mesa (Calif.) Bracket, but MACU was unable to overcome a tough start in a 3-2 loss to California Marymount on Nov. 18, 2021.
Before moving into the head coaching role at MACU, Frid served as the lead assistant coach for the Evangels from 2019-20.
During the 2020 season, the Evangels made an exhilarating postseason run that saw MACU win its second SAC Tournament Championship, defeating Central Christian 3-0 in a postgame shootout after playing to a 0-0 draw. Competing in the McKenzie (Tenn.) bracket of the NAIA Tournament, the Evangels won another exciting 4-2 shootout after Mason Gonzalez scored the game-tying goal with 1:22 remaining in regulation to force a 2-2 tie. The Evangels followed it up with an exciting 3-2 win over No. 1 seed and 14th-ranked Bethel when Mandela Singh-Sharpe kicked in the golden goal with 1:55 left in overtime.
In Frid's first season with the MACU men's soccer program in 2019, the Evangels went on to win the program's first ever NCCAA National Championship after finishing the year with the most wins in a single season in program history, going 20-3-1 after defeating Grace (Ind.) 5-0 in the title tilt in Kissimmee, Fla. on Dec. 7.
A national search for the program's next head coach will begin immediately.
