OKLAHOMA CITY – The Sooner Athletic Conference announced its 2023 All-Conference accolades on Friday afternoon and after coming away with the program's third straight league title, the No. 1 MACU Men's Soccer raked in most of the special awards while six earned All-SAC First Team honors.
The Evangels earned all but one of the special awards presented by the conference as Neil Hilton was named the league's Coach of the Year, Jack Price was tabbed Offensive Player of the Year, Kareem Williams garnered Defensive Player of the Year, Claudio Fuentealba was selected as Goalkeeper of the Year, Kolby Godbolt notched Newcomer of the Year and Jair Estrada was tabbed Co-Freshman of the Year.
On-top of their special awards, Price, Williams, Fuentealba and Godbolt were selected to the First Team while junior forward Charlie Betts and freshman midfielder Yasha Schaerer were also picked to the First Team.
In his first season at the helm, Hilton helped lead the Evangels to just their second ever unblemished regular season in program history, wrapping up the regular season with a 14-0-3 overall record and going 8-0-1 in Sooner Athletic Conference play, tallying the program's most wins ever in conference play.
Under Hilton's tutelage, the MACU men's soccer program has been ranked as the top team in the NAIA for a program record seven-straight weeks entering SAC Tournament.
In his third season at MACU, Price has continued to bring strong consistency to the MACU attack. Entering the SAC Tournament, the forward from London, England had netted 10 goals, seven of which coming in conference play to go with three assists for 17 points.
Price has established himself as one of the best pure scorers in the history of the program, ranking fourth in the program's NAIA Era (2007-present) record book for career goals (25), eighth in career assists (13) and third in career points (63).
In his second season with the Evangels, Williams has been the catalyst of one of the most elite defenses in the NAIA. The Kingston, Jamaica product leads the squad in minutes played at 1356 while the MACU defense as a whole has only allowed 0.72 goals on 8.2 shot attempts per game. Williams has also contributed offensively for MACU, netting two goals while dishing out the most assists on the team with five.
A newcomer to the MACU program, Fuentealba joins a long line of elite goalkeepers that have competed for the Evangels. This season, the junior keeper from Rancagua, Chile boasts a 12-0-2 record in-net, allowing the league-low 0.67 goals per game to go with a SAC-best .796 save percentage to go with six shutouts.
Making an impact with the program immediately, Godbolt has been a solid foundation for the Evangels on both the offensive and defensive ends of the field. Competing for most of the season as a forward, the Iowa Lakes, Iowa native ranks second on the team in goals (7) and has dished out three assists for the second-most points (17). Godbolt has provided some stability in the defensive wing position over the last three games as MACU has pitched three-straight shutouts while allowing just a penalty kick goal in the 2-1 win over Wayland Baptist.
In his first collegiate season, Estrada has not only gotten the attention at the conference level, but also nationally by becoming just the third MACU player ever to be named the NAIA Defensive Player of the Week after the Evangels notched a huge win over a Grace (Ind.) team that currently ranks in the top five in the NAIA as well as neutral site victory over another NAIA Top 25 team in No. 14 Missouri Valley. The Oklahoma City native came to MACU after a stellar career at Santa Fe South High School, logging 1071 minutes in the MACU backfield.
In his inaugural season with MACU, Betts has provided strong leadership within the MACU offensive attack. The Bunbury, Australia native has netted six goals and dished out a pair of assists with his biggest goal of the season coming in a 2-1 win at Wayland Baptist on Oct. 17. In that win, Betts earned one of the NAIA's Plays of the Week when he rifled a rocket shot inside the left post from long range with two seconds left in the match.
Rounding out the honorees, Schaerer has been a sensational presence in the MACU midfield during his freshman campaign. A native of Langnau am Albis, Switzerland, Schaerer is tied for the team-lead in assists (5) and has netted three goals while serving as a corner kick specialist and a magnet to the ball in the center of the pitch.
At the time of the release, Mid-America Christian kicked off the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals with a dominant 4-0 victory over Southwestern Assemblies of God to advance to the SAC Semifinals as the Evangels will host Southwestern Christian for a 7 p.m. kickoff at the Dill Soccer Field.
