OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 8 Mid-America Christian men's soccer team will be taking on a pair of NAIA powerhouse programs over the Labor Day weekend as the Evangels head to Olathe, Kan. to face No. 9 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) at 5 p.m. on Saturday before challenging No. 6 Missouri Valley at 2:30 p.m. on Monday.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 3-0
• Last Match: Won at Friends (Kan.) – 5-0 – Aug. 30, 2021 – Wichita, Kan.
• Stat Leaders:
  • Rodrigo Albuquerque – GR – F
    • 3 Goals, 1 Assist, 7 Points, 17 Shots, 7 SOG, 1 GWG
  • Ricardo Ferreira – SO – F
    • 3 Goals, 1 Assist, 7 Points, 5 Shots, 4 SOG, 1 GWG
  • Jack Price – SR – M
    • 4 Assists, 4 Points, 6 Shots, 3 SOG
  • Jeremi Abonnel – SO – GK
    • 3-0 W-L, 0.00 GAA, 6 Saves, 1.000 SV%, 3 SHO
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian put together a stellar offensive performance in the second half to come away with a 5-0 victory at Friends on Tuesday.
  • Despite getting outshot 8-4 in the first half, MACU held a 1-0 lead at the break before tallying four second half goals, three of which coming within a six-minute stretch late in the period. The Evangels tallied a 15-2 shot margin over the Falcons in the final 45 minutes.
  • Sophomore forward Ricardo Ferreira led the MACU attack with the second two-goal performance of his collegiate career. The Espinho, Portugal product netted a pair of goals in a 5-1 win over No. 22 Lyon (Ark.) at the Dill Soccer Field on Sept. 11. Currently, Ferreira is tied with Rodrigo Albuquerque for the team-lead in goals scored (3) and points (7).
  • Luan Cesar netted his second career game-winner with his 34^th-minute score and also dished out an assist in the victory. With the goal and the assist, Cesar has tallied 15 career goals and 10 career assists for 40 points, putting him eighth in program history in goals scored, ninth in assists and seventh in points.
  • Jack Price and Uviwe Qasha each tallied a pair of assists in the win, moving their season-high team totals to four and three respectively.
  • The win propelled the Evangels to 4-0 all-time against Friends and with the 5-0 score differential, MACU has outscored the Falcons 18-3 in the series.
  • With 13 goals on the season, Mid-America Christian currently ranks seventh in the NAIA in total goals scored and 11^th in goals per game average (4.33).  

SCOUTING REPORT
No. 9 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)

• Record: 1-1
• Last Match: Lost at Missouri Baptist – 2-1 – Aug. 27, 2022 – St. Louis
• Series vs. MACU (2004-): MNU leads 1-0
• Last Match vs. MACU: MNU won 2-0 – Aug. 22, 2015 – Olathe, Kan.
• Players to Watch:
  • Rick Hovinga – SO – F
    • 3 Goals, 6 Points, 7 Shots, 5 SOG, 1 GWG
  • Nicolas Theberge – SR – M
    • 2 Goals, 1 Assist, 5 Points, 7 Shots, 2 SOG
  • Jony Munoz – JR – F
    • 2 Assists, 2 Points, 2 Shots
  • Enzo Carvalho – JR – GK
    • 1-1 W-L, 2.65 GAA, 9 Saves, .692 SV%
• Team Notes:
  • MidAmerica Nazarene comes into the match after coming off a 2-1 defeat at Missouri Baptist last Saturday. In the defeat, the Pioneers took an early 1-0 lead on a score from Nicolas Theberge, but conceded goals in the 35^th and 72^nd minutes to drop their first match of the season.
  • The Pioneers won their lone home match of the season with a dominant 6-2 victory over Ottawa (Kan.) on Aug. 24.
  • A bulk of the MNU attack will run through sophomore forward Rick Hovinga and senior midfielder Nicolas Theberge, who have combined to score five of the Pioneers seven goals this season.
  • MidAmerica Nazarene is coming off a 14-7-1 campaign in 2021 that saw the Pioneers qualify for the NAIA National Championship Tournament and make it all the way to the final site before losing in the quarterfinal round to No. 1 Central Methodist (Mo.) 2-0 on Dec. 2.
  • It is just the second all-time meeting between the Evangels and Pioneers. In the previous meeting, MidAmerica Nazarene came away with a 2-0 win on their home turn on Aug. 22, 2015.

No. 6 Missouri Valley

• Record: 0-0-1
• Last Match: Tied at No. 4 Columbia (Mo.) – 1-1 – Aug. 26, 2022 – Columbia, Mo.
• Series vs. MACU (2004-): First Meeting
• Last Match vs. MACU: N/A
• Players to Watch:
  • Timo Dekker – SO – F
    • 6 goals and one assist in 2021
  • Kazuki Hashimoto – JR – D
    • 2021 NAIA All-American Second Team, 2021 Heart of America First Team
  • Dusan Milosevic – SR – GK
    • 2021 Heart of America Second Team
• Team Notes:
  • Missouri Valley enters the weekend with an 0-0-1 record after opening the season with a nil-all draw on the road against No. 4 Columbia (Mo.) on Aug. 26.
  • The Vikings are coming off a 17-6 season in 2021, advancing all the way to the NAIA National Championship Quarterfinals before falling to National Champion Keiser (Fla.) 3-1 on Dec. 2.
  • MVC is replacing its two leading goal scorers last season in NAIA All-American Mike Moser and Juri Schlingmann. Moser led the team with 13 goals and 10 assists for 36 points while Schlingmann posted 10 goals.
  • Missouri Valley came into the season as the sixth-ranked team in the NAIA. The Vikings are one of four non-conference opponents that the Evangels are facing that is ranked in the NAIA Top 25.
  • Mid-America Christian and Missouri Valley are facing each other for the first time in the two program's respective histories.