OKLAHOMA CITY – Senior forward
Rodrigo Albuquerque scored a pair of goals in the No. 8 MACU men's soccer season-opener as the Evangels cruised to a 3-0 victory over Bethel (Kan.) on Saturday night at the Dill Soccer Field.
SCORING SUMMARY
MATCH SUMMARY
- Mid-America Christian pushed across its first goal of the season on its first shot attempt of the year. After Rodrigo Ferreira flipped a pass into the middle of the box that was headed up by a Bethel defender, his brother Ricardo Ferreira made a great volley shot from 16 yards out of the middle of the box to the top right corner to make it a 1-0 game.
- The Evangels were able to force three more shots on-goal from Rodrigo Ferreira (12th), Rodrigo Albuquerque (21st) and Georg Westerlund (30th), but Bethel keeper Sean Holness was able to hold MACU scoreless the remainder of the half to keep it to 1-nil at the break.
- While Jack Price (47th) had an opportunity stopped, Mid-America Christian was once again able to push across an early insurance goal. In the Threshers defensive third, Albuquerque was able to pick the pocket of the Bethel midfielder from behind before dribbling between two defenders before firing a 20-yard rocket inside the right post, making it a 2-0 ballgame.
- Despite the Evangels having their next five shots on-goal thwarted, Mid-America Christian was still able to fire in a last minute goal on its final shot of the game with 49 seconds to go. In the final minute, Ricardo Ferreira ran down an errant cross near the left side of the 18-yard box before booting it back to Uviwe Qasha on the left side. Qasha dished it to a wide open Albuquerque on the left side of the box and he blasted a 20-yard shot that hooked by one defender before slipping past the diving keeper at the right post for his second score of the game.
MATCH NOTES
- Mid-America Christian dominated the possession, outshooting the Threshers by a 22-3 margin, including a 15-1 edge in the second half. The MACU defense also didn't allow Bethel to take a single shot on-goal while the Evangels efficiently placed 12 of their 22 shots on-target.
- The MACU defense was able to keep All-KCAC Second Team forward Juan Nicoletti in-check for the entire contest. The striker that scored 14 goals a season ago was limited to just one blocked shot attempt in the 35th minute.
- By scoring a pair of goals in the contest, Rodrigo Albuquerque is just one more score away from becoming the first 50-goal scorer in MACU men's soccer history. It also marked the 13th multi-goal game in the 2021 SAC Player of the Year's four-year career with the program.
- Ricardo Ferreira's game-winner was just his second career winning shot. His first game-winner came in the 50th minute of a 5-1 win over No. 22 Lyon (Ark.) on Sept. 11, 2021.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Jeremi Abonnel turned in his fifth career shutout, moving him into a tie for fifth all-time with Liam Ward (2017-19) in the MACU record books.
- The Evangels won their sixth straight season-opener.
UP NEXT
- The Evangels will now prepare to face another strong KCAC opponent at the Dill Soccer Field on Friday, Aug. 26 as Mid-America Christian will face McPherson (Kan.) for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
