OKLAHOMA CITY – In a matchup of two of the top teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference, the No. 1 MACU men's soccer team faced a stiff test from Southwestern Assemblies of God on Saturday night, but the Evangels were able to hold-off the Lions comeback effort behind two Kolby Godbolt goals in a 3-2 victory at the Dill Soccer Field.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – MACU – 39:59 – Goal: Kolby Godbolt (5), Assist: Yasha Schaerer – MACU 1, SAGU 0
• 2^nd Half – SAGU – 47:22 – Goal: Ethan Stewart (13) – MACU 1, SAGU 1
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 55:00 – Goal: Kolby Godbolt (6), Assist: Pietro Musso, Jack Price – MACU 2, SAGU 1
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 60:04 – Goal: Yasha Schaerer (3) – MACU 3, SAGU 1
• 2^nd Half – SAGU – 67:49 – Goal: John Garcia (5) – MACU 3, SAGU 2

MATCH SUMMARY

• Both teams had limited opportunities through the first 39 minutes of the match as the only shot on-goal came off the foot of Yasha Schaerer off a free kick on the left side of the box on a bouncer that was batted down by the keeper before being eventually cleared.
• At the tail end of the 40^th minute, Mid-America Christian (10-0-3, 4-0-1 SAC) found their go-ahead goal to go into halftime off Schaerer's corner. The in-swinging corner from the left side floated into the middle of the box, finding the head of Kolby Godbolt who placed the six-yarder just underneath the middle of the crossbar to set the score to 1-nil.
• Early on in the second half, disaster struck for MACU when a cross by Southwestern Assemblies of God (9-4, 3-2 SAC) was accidentally deflected off the arm of an Evangels defender inside the box, setting up a Lions penalty kick in the 48^th minute. On the PK try, SAGU's top striker Ethan Stewart got Claudio Fuentealba to dive toward the right post before pushing into the left side to set the 1-1 score.
• At the top end of the 55^th minute, Mid-America Christian got back ahead when Jack Price relayed a pass down the right side for Pietro Musso on the run. Musso's cross found the foot of Godbolt, who powered in a redirected 10-yarder from the left side to right after getting the deeper to bite on a left-side dive to make it a 2-1 contest.
• In the 61^st minute, the Evangels were awarded a penalty kick goal of their own when Henry Tolbert dribbled around two defenders and was tripped inside the 18-yard box, setting it up for a MACU penalty. On the PK attempt, Schaerer utilized his strong striking ability to power in a well-place attempt inside the left post for the game-winning goal.
• The Lions cut into the MACU advantage seven minutes later on a fortuitous bounce in the 68^th minute. After Alex Castro lofted a right-side cross in the middle of the box intending to find the head of Ashton Leffring, but it was headed away way Emanuele Grumo toward the left side. However, the ball ended up to the foot of John Garcia, who lofted a perfectly placed 15-yarder into the top right corner, closing the gap to 3-2.
• The Evangels didn't allow SAGU to take another shot on-goal for the remainder of the match as MACU held on for the 3-2 victory.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian commanded the possession for most of the match, outshooting Southwestern Assemblies of God 17-5 with a 9-3 edge in shots on-goal.
• The goal scoring for Kolby Godbolt were his fifth and sixth goals of the season, sitting second on the team only behind Jack Price (9) for the team-lead.
• Yasha Schaerer's goal marked the third of his MACU career, moving him into a tie for third on the squad with Charlie Betts.
• Schaerer also moved into a tie for the team-lead in assists with Kareem Williams his fourth of the season.
• By notching his 12^th career assist, Jack Price moved into MACU's NAIA Era (2007-present) career top 10 in another statistical category as he now shares a tie for eighth in assists with former teammates Ricardo Ferreira (2021-22) and Luan Cesar (2020-22) as well as Simon Van Rheeden (2017-18).
• With the additional point off the assist, Price also became only the fourth Evangel in that time frame to record 60 or more career points, needing just one more to match Dominik Tajak (2017, 19) for third in the NAIA Era career record book.
• Pietro Musso was also credited with an assist in the match, notching the first of his MACU career.
• Schaerer led MACU offensive efforts with four shots, two were on-goal while Claudio Fuentealba notched his ninth win in-goal.
• With the victory, Mid-America Christian has now won six-straight games against SAGU and own a 14-5 lead in the all-time series.
• The victory also moved MACU to 13 points in conference play to keep within striking distance of current SACU leader John Brown with 15 points off a 5-0 SAC mark.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be back on the road on Tuesday as the Evangels head to Plainview, Texas for a 7:30 p.m. meeting with Wayland Baptist.