PLAINVIEW, Texas – The MACU women's soccer team faced a tough road test at Wayland Baptist on Tuesday night, but the Evangels managed to hold on for a 2-1 victory to get the program's first win in Plainview since the 2017 season.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – MACU – 43:47 – Goal: Alissa Taylor (2), Assist: Annika Gerdau, Maria Alonso – MACU 1, WBU 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 56:23 – Goal: Jasie Eischen (2), Assist: Kadin Stinson – MACU 2, WBU 0
• 2^nd Half – WBU – 63:50 – Goal: Hayde' Gallardo (2) – MACU 2, WBU 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• Both teams struggled to find good opportunities in the early going, but Mid-America Christian (10-2-1, 4-1-1 SAC) got the first great look when a deep send found the foot of Mia Willyerd on a breakaway in the 21^st minute. However, Willyerd's one-on-one attempt toward the right post missed just barely to the right to keep it a scoreless game.
• Five minutes later, MACU had another great chance when Francesca Martella was issued a free kick opportunity from about 35-yards out. With the wind at her back, Martella powered the left-side shot on-goal, but the shot deflected off the crossbar before being cleared out by Wayland Baptist (3-6-2, 2-3 SAC).
• With 1:13 remaining, the Evangels finally found the go-ahead goal when a takeaway in the midfield by Maria Alonso found the relay to Annika Gerdau on WBU's side of midfield, sending a deep pass ahead to Alissa Taylor breaking into the box on the left side. Wayland keeper Dayanara Torres tried to come out at the point of attack to collect the ball before Taylor could get to it, but she managed to slip a shot past Torres and a WBU defender was unable to clear the ball off the line as it crossed the goal line for the 1-0 score.
• In the 57^th minute of the second half, the Evangels stretched their lead to 2-nil when Kadin Stinson's tap-back to Jasie Eischen was fired inside the lower left post from 19-yards out.
• In the 64^th minute, Wayland Baptist got a goal back when a defensive misplay of the ball allowed Hayde' Gallardo to get behind the defender and fire a 16-yarder from the right side that was just out of the reach of MACU goalkeeper Rachel Torres as it pinged off the left post and into the net, cutting the score to 2-1.
• The Pioneers had one last chance to find an equalizer in the 86^th minute on a header by Cecilia Lopez toward the left post, but Torres made a solid two-handed save by batting it up in the air before recollecting it, ultimately sealing the one-goal win for the Evangels.

MATCH NOTES

• In the defensively grueling match, Mid-America Christian held a 14-9 shot advantage over Wayland Baptist with just a 6-4 margin in shots on-goal.
• The goals scored by Alissa Taylor and Jasie Eischen were each their second goals of the season while the game-winner for Eischen marked her second of the year.
• The assists in the match were recorded to Maria Alonso, Anika Gerdau and Kadin Stinson. The assist for Gerdau was her team-leading sixth of the season and the 10^th of her Evangels career. Alonso notched her third and Stinson tallied her second of the year.
• Francesca Martella led the MACU offensive efforts with five shots.
• Rachel Torres improved to 11-2 in-goal for MACU, allowing just one goal and notching three saves for a .750 save percentage.
• The Evangels managed to snap its two-match winless streak on Plainview's pitch as the last time MACU won at Wayland Baptist came in a 6-0 victory on Sept. 26, 2017. With the victory, Mid-America Christian brought the all-time series to dead even at 8-8-3.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will now prepare for its toughest test of the season as the Evangels head to Siloam Springs, Arkansas on Saturday for a 5 p.m. match against No. 10 John Brown at Alumni Field.