OLATHE, Kan. – The No. 8 Mid-America Christian men's soccer team bounced back in a big way on its Labor Day road trip as the Evangels came away with a 1-0 victory over No. 6 Missouri Valley at Pioneer Field.
SCORING SUMMARY
MATCH SUMMARY
- Missouri Valley put the first shot on-goal in the contest when Sam Green launched a 23-yarder from the left side of the box, but MACU goalkeeper Jeremi Abonnel was able to snare the shot aimed toward the right side to keep the Vikings off the board.
- Mid-America Christian was able to capitalize on some early opportunities in the first half. In the third minute, Cesar Ramirez had a shot saved by MVC goalkeeper Dusan Milosevic, but after the clearance came out to Diego Real, he blasted a rocket shot toward the middle of the goal that was initially saved by the keeper, but Georg Westerlund corralled the rebound and fired a wide open shot into the right side to secure the 1-nil lead.
- MACU's next chance at an insurance goal in the opening half came in the 27th minute when Rodrigo Albuquerque squared a strong shot from the top of the 18-yard box toward the left side, but Milosevic made a great diving save to keep the MACU advantage to one.
- In the 32nd minute, Dante Luz had an open opportunity at MACU's second chance when the Vikings made an errant pass in the box, but he tried to flick an eight-yard misdirected shot from the left side to the right post, but Milosevic miraculously was able to react in-time by reaching his left arm out to deflect the attempt.
- Mid-America Christian struggled to get the attack going in the second half as the Evangels were held to zero shots over the final 45 minutes.
- With MACU playing down a man after Ridwane Boukraa was issued his second yellow card, Missouri Valley put together one final push in the final 20 seconds. On the final play of the game, Sam Green broke down the left side of the box, but his cross attempt toward the middle was intercepted by Abonnel, securing the victory for the Evangels.
MATCH NOTES
- In the tightly contested defensive matchup, Mid-America Christian held a 10-6 edge in shots while placing six shots on-goal to just two for the Vikings.
- Georg Westerlund's third-minute winner was his first collegiate game-winning goal while also moving into a tie for the team lead in goals scored with Rodrigo Albuquerque and Ricardo Ferreira with three apiece.
- The win over the sixth-ranked Vikings is MACU's highest-profile win since the Evangels defeated No. 4 Wayland Baptist 1-0 at the Dill Soccer Field on Sept. 29, 2018.
- Mid-America Christian rebounded since losing a heartbreaking 1-0 decision to No. 9 MidAmerica Nazarene on a goal scored in the final 45 seconds on Saturday. That loss to the Pioneers was MACU's first regular season defeat since falling 1-0 to Southwestern Christian on Mar. 23, 2021.
- The shutout win for sophomore goalkeeper Jeremi Abonnel was his fourth of the season and the eighth of his career.
UP NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will return home on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. match against Baker (Kan.) at the Dill Soccer Field.
