OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 1 Mid-America Christian men's soccer team kept its Sooner Athletic Conference Championship aspirations intact with an impressive performance in its Senior Night match against Oklahoma Panhandle State as the Evangels cruised to a 3-0 victory over the Aggies on Monday night at the Dill Soccer Field.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• 1st Half – MACU – 10:05 – Goal: Jack Price (10), Assist: Kolby Godbolt, Charlie Betts – MACU 1, OPSU 0
• 1st Half – MACU – 16:53 – Goal: Charlie Betts (5) – MACU 2, OPSU 0
• 2nd Half – MACU – 75:10 – Goal: Charlie Betts (6), Assist: Yasha Schaerer – MACU 3, OPSU 0

MATCH SUMMARY

• Just seven minutes into the match, Mid-America Christian (13-0-3, 7-0-1 SAC) had a tremendous chance to open the scoring in eighth minute. On the play, Kolby Godbolt delivered a precision pass to Charlie Betts in the edge of the box with ample room to take a shot. However, Aggies goalie Aaron Smith made an incredible stabbing save on the rocket shot, keeping the game scoreless.
• Three minutes later, the Evangels got the scoring started. When following a clearance by Panhandle's defense that landed at Godbolt's feet, he executed a skillful back-heel pass to Betts positioned just outside the box. Betts then advanced towards the end line and handed over a low cross to the far post, where Price applied a simple tap-in finish inside the six-yard box, making it a 1-0 MACU lead.
• The Evangels wasted little time in tallying their second goal with the next opportunity coming in the 17^th minute. A seamless give-and-go maneuver between Kareem Williams and Godbolt on the left side set the stage for Godbolt to deliver a pinpoint cross to Betts breaking into the middle of the box. His redirected header back toward the left side was unable to be handled by the OPSU keeper, making it a 2-0 game.
• The Evangels' offense remained ravenous for the rest of the half. In the 25th minute, Frederico Palacios delivered a long through ball to Henry Tolbert's run inside the box. Tolbert laid the ball back for Pietro Musso, whose finish struck the crossbar before being cleared by OPSU's defense.
• MACU had another encounter with the crossbar just two minutes later. Following a short corner between Yasha Schaerer and Musso, Schaerer executed a cross to locate Oscar Gallardo at the second post. Gallardo seemingly attempted to head the ball with the intent of a pass, yet it struck the bar for the second time in the game before bouncing over for a goal kick.
• The Evangels wrapped up the scoring with just 15 minutes left in the second half. Schaerer's corner was directed towards the near post and discovered Betts, who demonstrated remarkable skill by using the outside of his foot to delicately tap the ball into the net. This goal extended the Evangels' lead to three to ultimately seal the 3-nil result.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian asserted their dominance throughout the game, maintaining control with a commanding 22-8 advantage in total shots over Oklahoma Panhandle State, which included a 9-3 margin in shots on-target.
• Jack Price scored his team-leading 10^th goal of the season as well as his fifth game-winner of the year, moving him into a tie for third in the program's NAIA Era single-season record book along with Ricardo Ferreira (2022), Rodrigo Albuquerque (2021) and Raphael Bonelle (2013).
• The winner also marked the ninth of Price's illustrious career, moving him into a tie for second in the career NAIA Era Record book with Dominik Tajak (2017, 19).
• Charlie Betts recorded his first brace in his MACU career while moving into a tie for second on the team in goals with his sixth of the year on a team-leading four shots in the match. Betts also added an assist to his stat line for his first career five-point game with MACU.
• Yasha Schaerer and Kareem Williams maintained their leads on the team's assist leads as each notched their sixth dimes of the season.
• For the first time in his MACU career, Kolby Godbolt tallied two assists to lead the distribution efforts, moving into second on the team in points with the pair of tallies moved it up to 15 on the 2023 campaign.
• Javier Ceballos improved his goalkeeping record to 2-0-1 for the Evangels, recording a 1.000 save percentage while notching three stops in the match.
• The Evangels secured their second consecutive victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State, maintaining an undefeated record against the Aggies at 5-0-1 since their first meeting on Oct. 26, 2019.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be making the short trip up to Oklahoma City to wrap-up the regular season on Saturday as the Evangels will take on the Stars in a pivotal SAC match at Brian Harvey Field. The crucial match is slated for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.