OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 2 Mid-America Christian men's soccer team will be holding a Futbol Fiesta Night for its Sooner Athletic Conference opener on Tuesday night at the Dill Soccer Field as the Evangels host Wayland Baptist for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 7-1
• Last Match: Won at Bellevue (Neb.) – 3-0 – Sept. 20, 2022 – Bellevue, Neb.
• Top Performers:
  • Rodrigo Albuquerque – GR – F
    • 5 Goals, 3 Assists, 13 Points, 28 Shots, 13 SOG, 1 GWG
  • Jack Price – SR – F
    • 2 Goals, 4 Assists, 8 Points, 11 Shots, 5 SOG, 1 GWG
  • Ricardo Ferreira – SO – F
    • 3 Goals, 1 Assist, 7 Points, 14 Shots, 7 SOG, 1 GWG
  • Jeremi Abonnel – SO – GK
    • 7-1 W-L, 0.13 GAA, 19 Saves, .950 SV%, 7 SHO
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian will be entering Sooner Athletic Conference play with a 7-1 record with the team's lone loss coming to currently No. 6 ranked MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.).
  • The Evangels put together a dominant offensive and defensive performance in the second half at Bellevue on Sept. 20. In the 3-0 victory, the Evangels scored three goals between the 78^th and 84^th minutes while defensively clamping Bellevue to just four shots with only one of which being on-goal.
  • After MACU's stellar defensive efforts on the week, junior defender Kareem Williams was named the Sooner Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week. Williams is the third consecutive MACU player to earn the SAC DPOTW honor after Mason Gonzalez collected the award in Week 3 and Ricardo Sepulveda earned the Week 4 accolade.
  • The Evangels currently rank third in the NAIA amongst teams to play five or more games in goals allowed per game at just 0.13.
  • Starting at 6 p.m., festivities for Futbol Fiesta will begin in the north parking to the Dill Soccer Field. The Hispanic heritage celebration will include a dunk tank, axe throwing, food truck, t-shirt giveaway to the first 150 fans in attendance and high school students who wear their team's jersey will get free admission to the games. There will also be a performance by the Ballet Folklorico Xochipilli dancers between the women's and men's games.

SCOUTING REPORT
Wayland Baptist (Texas)

• Record: 3-3-1
• Last Match: Lost at Eastern New Mexico – 2-1 – Sept. 22, 2022 – Portales, N.M.
• Series vs. MACU (2009-): Series Tied 8-8
• Last Match vs. MACU: MACU won 2-1 – Oct. 19, 2021 – Plainview, Texas
• Players to Watch:
  • Daniel Ruiz – JR – M
    • 3 Goals, 3 Assists, 9 Points, 15 Shots, 6 SOG
  • Bryan Alfaro – SR – M
    • 3 Goals, 6 Points, 16 Shots, 9 SOG, 1 GWG
  • Ryan Naidoo – SR – M
    • 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 4 Points, 11 Shots, 2 SOG
  • Adriano Coppolecchia – JR – GK
    • 3-3-1 W-L, 1.29 GAA, 11 Saves, .550 SV%, 2 SHO
• Team Notes:
  • Wayland Baptist enters SAC play with a 3-3-1 record, coming of a heartbreaking 2-1 loss at Eastern Mexico after the Greyhounds scored the game-winning goal with 52 seconds left in the match.
  • The Pioneers feature a strong defense that is allowing only 1.29 goals on 7.9 shots per game.
  • Leading the offensive efforts for WBU is junior midfielder Daniel Ruiz, who has netted three goals and has dished out three assists for nine points.
  • While the all-time series is currently tied at eight wins apiece, Mid-America Christian has dominated the series as of late, winning the last five meetings. Of those last five games, the final score has been 2-1.
  • In last season's meeting on Oct. 19, the Evangels were able to bounce back after conceding an own goal in the 47^th minute by getting a 74^th minute score from Luan Cesar before Cesar Ramirez booted in the game-winner just 27 seconds later.