PLAINVIEW, Texas – In the waning moments of the match, junior forward Charlie Betts came up with the most clutch goal of his illustrious soccer career as the Bunburry, Australia native rocketed in the game-winning goal inside the left post as time expired to propel No. 1 MACU men's soccer to a thrilling 2-1 victory at Wayland Baptist on Tuesday night.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• 1st Half – MACU – 12:11 – Goal: Phil Appelt (2), Assist: Jack Price – MACU 1, WBU 0
• 1st Half – WBU – 16:22 – Goal: Daniel Ruiz (7) – MACU 1, WBU 1
• 2nd Half – MACU – 90:00 – Goal: Charlie Betts (4) – MACU 2, WBU 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• At the 12-minute mark of the first half, Mid-America Christian (11-0-3, 5-0-1 SAC) captured the early lead behind a superbly executed play. A precise long-range pass from MACU keeper Claudio Fuentealba, spanning the entirety of the field landed to the feet of Phil Appelt. Phil, in turn, connected with Jack Price. Initiating a skillful sequence of passes and coordinated movements between Price and Frederico Palacios, this dynamic interplay allowed Price to advance into the area between the six-yard and the 18-yard box, ultimately setting up a crucial pass back to Appelt, who successfully netted his second goal of the season.
• Just a few minutes following the game-opening score, Wayland Baptist (6-4-2, 3-3 SAC) seized a promising opportunity when a well-placed long pass found its way into the box. Claudio Fuentealba, in an attempt to claim the ball, unfortunately missed, leading to a foul by Yasha Schaerer on the Pioneers' attacker inside the box to force a penalty kick. The Pioneers' leading scorer Daniel Ruiz capitalized on the chance, sending a precise shot to the top right corner to level the game at 1-1.
• Mid-America had a golden opportunity to take the lead with 13 minutes left in the first half when Price's pass toward Henry Tolbert was let through to Francois Geris-Rey up on a one-on-one situation with the Pioneers' goalkeeper Louis Pryce. However, Pryce shut down the opportunity by stepping forward and executing an incredible save to maintain the deadlock.
• Just two minutes later, Wayland Baptist swiftly gained possession and delivered a long pass to Jamol Williams, who with keen vision, set up Harry Garbutt in another one-on-one encounter with Fuentealba. However, Garbutt failed to capitalize on a pivotal chance, sending the ball high over the crossbar.
• In the 88^th minute, the Pioneers had another significant chance to add to the scoresheet. Jamie Rinquest made a crucial steal from Enzo Nogue in the midfield, and the ball found its way to Williams, who expertly passed it back on the relay. Rinquest distributed the ball to the Pioneers' right winger, who delivered a pinpoint pass into the box for Owen Thomas for an attempt on-goal. However, Fuentealba came up with the biggest save in the match by making the left-handed stabbing save toward the right post to force the ball out the right side for a corner kick.
• In the final seconds of the game, the Evangels clinched a dramatic victory as Federico Palacios took control of the ball on a headed clearance and headed a pass to the wide-open Charlie Betts. Betts skillfully maneuvered inside, favoring his left foot and unleashed an unstoppable rocket from beyond the 18-yard box to inside the left post to secure the 2-1 win at the buzzer.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian maintained a majority of the control with a 16-7 advantage in shots, including a 7-3 margin in shots on-goal over Wayland Baptist.
• The goal scored by Phil Appelt was his second of the season while the game-winning score from Charlie Betts marked his fourth of the season and the first game-winner of his MACU career.
• Jack Price recorded his third assist of the year while marking his third-straight match with a dime. Overall, the assist is Price's 13^th in his MACU career, allowing him to continue climbing MACU's NAIA Era career saves record book by drawing even with teammate Diego Real for the program's eighth-best mark.
• Claudio Fuentealba improved his record to 10-0-2 in-goal for the Evangels this season, notching a pair of saves to go with the lone goal conceded on the penalty kick.
• With the victory, the Evangels have now won eight-straight meetings against the Pioneers.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian's next match will have massive Sooner Athletic Conference Championship implications as the Evangels will travel to Siloam Springs, Arkansas on Saturday, Oct. 21 for a 7:30 p.m. showdown at Alumni Field against current SAC leader John Brown.