OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 1 MACU men's soccer team ran into some unlucky breaks on Saturday night at the Dill Soccer Field as the Evangels had three second half goals waived off as well as a penalty kick saved in a 1-1 draw against Science & Arts.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• 2^nd Half – MACU – 74:58 – Goal: Jack Price (5), Assist: Kareem Williams, Yasha Schaerer – MACU 1, USAO 0
• 2^nd Half – USAO – 77:49 – Goal: Stijn Iding (1), Assist: Angelo Leendertse – MACU 1, USAO 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• The opening half proved to be a defensive struggle for both sides as Science & Arts (4-4-3, 0-1-1 SAC) had the closest opportunity of the first 45 when Harry Yorke's right-side header pinged off the top of the crossbar in the 42^nd minute to send the game into the halftime break at 0-0.
• The Drovers had another great chance in the early going of the second half when a deep cross once again found the head of Harry Yorke in the 48^th minute, but this time MACU goalkeeper Claudio Fuentealba was able to push the redirection toward top center over the crossbar to keep the match scoreless.
• A minute later, Yorke had another header attempt on frame when a right-side deep cross was lofted toward the left post, but once again, Fuentealba tallied the save with the diving stop on the shot toward the lower right side.
• Between the 60^th and 63^rd minutes, Mid-America Christian (7-0-3, 1-0-1 SAC) put together an offensive barrage that was thwarted by some strong saves and some tough breaks. To start off the sequence, Jack Price made a stellar move in the midfield to get around a few Drovers defenders before striking a hard liner toward the right side as USAO goalkeeper Angel Diaz made a strong save to push the ball out the left end line for a corner kick at the 59:04 mark.
• Less than a minute later, it appeared the Evangels had the go-ahead goal when Yasha Schaerer's ensuing corner kick found the head of Sebastian Rebolledo, putting the mis-directed header into the back of the net, but the goal was negated when he was called for a foul for going over the back of a Drovers defender.
• At the 60:29 mark, Enzo Nogue got a great look on-goal from the top middle of the penalty box toward the right post on a quick counter, but Diaz once again made a stellar leaping save on the shot toward the lower right post to force another corner kick.
• With just over 29 minutes left, the Evangels had another goal negated off another corner when the Drovers managed to briefly head the ball out toward the edge of the penalty box. However, a quick delivery back into the six-yard box from Francois Geris-Rey to Kolby Godbolt, who put the shot inside the left post. However, the Evangels were called for being offside to wipe the goal.
• With just under 28 minutes to go in the half, it appeared the Evangels had another goal when a deep set piece free kick by Schaerer from deep on the left side got past everyone and ended up into the back of the net on the right side, however, once again MACU was called for a foul inside the box to negative their third potential goal of the match.
• In the 66^th minute, Mid-America Christian had another great chance at a go-ahead goal when Price was tripped up by a Drovers defender just inside the right side of the 18-yard box, setting up the Evangels with a penalty kick. However, for the first time all season, the Evangels were turned away on a PK try as Charlie Betts' attempt toward the lower left post was centered too much and was saved by Diaz, keeping it a nil-all game.
• At the back end of the 75^th minute, the Evangels finally found their go-ahead goal. After a takeaway on the right side led to a quick counter with a deep cross to the left side for Schaerer, the freshman mid delivered a pass to a wide-open Kareem Williams on the left side of the box, who found Price open in the middle near the six-yard box. Price punched in the five-yarder from middle to right post, making it a 1-0 game.
• Three minutes later, the Drovers got the equalizer off a set piece from midfield. As Angelo Leendertse lofted a deep ball into the box, Fuentealba came off his line to try and knock the ball away. However, Stijn Iding managed to get his head on it just before the MACU keeper could get there, putting it into the open net from eight-yards to draw it to 1-all.
• The Evangels had one last great chance at a game-winner in the 85^th minute off a three-shot sequence. After Price had his initial shot from 10-yards out on the right side initially blocked, he fired another quick volley toward the right post that was saved by Diaz before Diaz made another quick save on Betts' rebounded shot toward the right post, ultimately sealing the 1-1 result.

MATCH NOTES

• Despite the result, Mid-America Christian held a 15-9 shot advantage over Science & Arts with a 6-4 edge in shots on-goal.
• Jack Price joined some exclusive company with his 75^th minute goal as it went down as the 20^th in his three-year MACU career, becoming just the fifth player in the NAIA Era (2007-present) for MACU men's soccer to net 20 career goals. Price joins Allan Sorato (2018-19) for the fourth-most goals netted by a MACU player in that time frame.
• On-top of netting his team-leading fifth goal of the season, Price also led the MACU offensive efforts with four shots, three of which were on-target.
• The assists on the goal went to Yasha Schaerer and Kareem Williams, who each tallied their second dimes of the season.
• Claudio Fuentealba finished with three saves for a .750 save percentage while moving to 6-0-2 in-goal this season.
• For the second straight year, Mid-America Christian and Science & Arts played to a 1-1 draw during their regular season meeting. The two squads competed to a 1-all draw in last year's meeting in Chickasha, Oklahoma on Oct. 14.
• During halftime of the match, the Evangels honored their alumni in attendance as the Evangels celebrated Alumni Night at the Dill Soccer Field.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will now prepare to face another bitter rival on Tuesday, Oct. 3 as the Evangels will head uptown to Bethany to take on Southwestern Christian for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.