BETHANY, Okla. – The MACU women's soccer team survived a major scare from crosstown rival Southwestern Christian at Cagle Family Field on Tuesday afternoon, but the Evangels managed to salvage a 1-1 tie against the Eagles after Annika Gerdau booted in the equalizer with just 34 seconds left in the match.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – SCU – 6:59 – Goal: Madie Heffelman (2), Assist: Loral Romain – SCU 1, MACU 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 89:26 – Goal: Annika Gerdau (2), Assist: Alison Mora – MACU 1, SCU 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• Southwestern Christian (3-6, 0-2 SAC) held the early momentum in the match as Marina Angiolini put on a strong strike toward the lower left post from 18-yards out, but Rachel Torres made a strong diving save in the lower left to keep the Eagles off the board.
• However, SCU managed to grab the lead late in the seventh minute when Loral Romain tapped a pass back to Madie Heffelman in the left side of the box, lofting a 14-yarder toward the top right corner that was just barely out of the reach of MACU goalkeeper Rachel Torres, making it a 1-0 game.
• Mid-America Christian (8-2, 2-0 SAC) had a golden opportunity at an equalizer when a cross found the head of Bruna Faleiro in the box, but the 10-yarder pinged off the top of the crossbar before Kadin Stinson lofted a follow-up shot high, keeping the Evangels off the board.
• While MACU was able to take a commanding 11-2 shot advantage in the half, the Evangels were only able to muster two on-target shots in the 13^th and 18^th minutes off the feet of Deborah Silveira and Annika Gerdau, but SCU goalkeeper Marta Papandrea corralled saves on both attempts to allow the Eagles to take a 1-nil advantage into the half.
• The Evangels once again peppered SCU with shots in the second half, out-shooting SCU 12-2 over the final 45 minutes, but once again, MACU struggled to get attempts on-frame with just four of those tries finding the target.
• Mid-America Christian had a great chance at an equalizer in the 80^th minute when a cross found the head of Maria Alonso inside the box, putting well-placed header toward the center crossbar. However, Papandrea made the best save of the match as she leaped to get her right hand on the ball, forcing it over the crossbar for a MACU corner.
• After having so many opportunities narrowly missed, the Evangels finally found the equalizer in the final minute. After Alison Mora dispossessed an SCU attacker at center field and broke away down the midfield, Mora found Gerdau crashing into the left side of the penalty box. From eight-yards away, Gerdau slid an incredibly well-placed cross-field shot, pinging the grounder off the right post and in, sealing the 1-1 draw.

MATCH NOTES

• Despite the 1-all result, Mid-America Christian dominated the possession, outshooting Southwestern Christian 23-4, but the Evangels struggled to put attempts on-frame in the windy conditions as MACU held just a 23-4 edge in shots on-goal.
• Gladis Avalos and Francesca Martella led the MACU offensive efforts with four shots apiece.
• The goal for Annika Gerdau marked her second of the season and the third of MACU career. Gerdau finished with three shots, all of which were on-goal.
• Alison Mora was credited with the assist on Gerdau's score, going into the books as her first career dime with the Evangels.
• After relieving starting goalkeeper Rachel Torres at halftime, Makayla Farquharson received the draw result after not conceding a goal and tallying a crucial save in the 83^rd minute.
• The draw goes down in the all-time series between the two squads as the first since they started playing each other in 2010.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be back on its home pitch on Saturday night as the Evangels will host Texas Wesleyan for a 5 p.m. kickoff at the Dill Soccer Field.
• At halftime of the game, Mid-America Christian will be honoring the 1998 and 2004 NCCAA National Invitational Champion baseball teams.