OKLAHOMA CITY – Coming off the program's winningest season that saw the MACU men's soccer team claim both the SAC regular season title and tournament title for the first time ever, the Evangels were once again selected to win the conference crown in the league's preseason poll announced on Wednesday.
Voted upon by the conference's 10 head coaches, the Evangels received 79 points as well as eight of the 10 available first-place votes.
Following MACU in the poll was John Brown in second with 66 points and two first-place votes while Southwestern Christian and Science & Arts rounded out the top four spots with 57 and 55 points respectively.
Last season, the Evangels wrapped up the campaign with a 19-1-1 (.929) overall record and won the program's first regular season championship after going 8-0-1 (.944) against league competition.
Mid-America Christian completed a dominant run through the SAC Tournament, outscoring its opponents 10-0 as the Evangels claimed their third tourney title with a 2-0 victory over Southwestern Christian at the Dill Soccer Field on Nov. 11, 2021.
The Evangels return a wellspring of talent from last season's roster, including NAIA All-American and SAC Player of the Year Rodrigo Albuquerque. The senior forward from Recife, Brazil last season scored 15 goals and nine assists, adding to his already career program records of 47 goals and 23 assists.
MACU also brings back another elite striker in Luan Cesar, who is coming off his best season with the Evangels after tallying a career-best 11 goals and three assists, which included pushing across a pair of goals against California Marymount in the NAIA Opening Round.
Overall, the Evangels bring back their top five goal scorers from a year ago in SAC Newcomer of the Year Jack Price, Ricardo Ferreira and Cesar Ramirez while Ramirez also shattered MACU's single-season assist record with 12 dimes.
On top of their already elite goal scoring, the Evangels are also bringing back their second-leading goal scorer from the 2020-21 season in Mason Gonzalez after missing most of the 2021 campaign due to injury.
MACU also brings back a stingy defense that will be led by the SAC Goalkeeper of the Year in sophomore stopper Jeremi Abonnel while the Evangels also bring back an All-SAC First Team defender in Fabian Forisch as well two stellar defenders in Emanuele Grumo and Salvador Garcia.
While the Evangels return some stellar talent, MACU is also bringing in an elite class of nine newcomers who will expect to make an immediate impact.
Mid-America Christian will see its first competitive action of the 2022 season as the Evangels will hold a scrimmage against Rose State at 7 p.m. on Aug. 10 before officially kicking off the regular season at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 20 against Bethel (Kan.) at the Dill Soccer Field.
