OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 6 MACU men's soccer team will officially get its 2023 season underway with a high-profile matchup against LSU-Shreveport with an 8 p.m. kickoff at the Dill Soccer Field on Thursday.

The Evangels will have a quick turnaround with its first road match of the season as the Evangels will travel to Ottawa (Kan.) for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday.

MACU comes into the season with big expectations under first year head coach Neil Hilton as the Evangels were picked to win the Sooner Athletic Conference after winning both the league regular season and tournament titles the past two seasons.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• 2022 Record: 19-2-2 (7-0-2 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost vs. No. 20 Rio Grande (Ohio) – 2-0 – Dec. 1, 2022 – Decatur, Ala. (NAIA Quarterfinals)
• Top Returners:
  • Diego Real – SO - M
    • SAC Freshman of the Year, All-SAC 1^st Team, 1 Goal, 11 Assists in 2022
  • Kareem Williams – SR – D
    • All-SAC 1^st Team, 2 Goals, 23 Games Played and Started, 1905 Minutes in 2022
  • Jack Price – SR – F
    • 7 Goals, 7 Assists, 21 Points in 2022
• Top Newcomers:
  • Charlie Betts – JR – F
    • NCAA D-I North Florida, NAIA All-American HM at Milligan, 10 Goals, 8 Assists in 2021
  • Henry Tolbert – SO – F
    • Iowa Lakes CC, 11 Goals, 5 Assists in two seasons
  • Yasha Schaerer – FR – M
    • High profile club career in Switzerland

SCOUTING REPORT
(RV) LSU-Shreveport

• Record: 1-0 (14-4-3 in 2022)
• Last Game: Won at Texas Wesleyan – 3-1 – Aug. 19, 2023 – Fort Worth, Texas
• Series vs MACU (2009-): Series Tied 1-1
• Last Game vs MACU: LSUS won 3-2 – Sept. 11, 2019 – Oklahoma City
• Series Streak: LSUS Won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Jake Strachan – SR – D
    • RRAC Defensive POY, 4 Goals, 1 Assist, 21 GP, 20 GS in 2022
  • James Averies – SR – D
    • All-RRAC 1^st Team, 1 Goal, 6 Assists, 21 GP, 21 GS in 2022
  • Emmanuel Esquivel – SO – GK
    • All-RRAC 1^st Team, 11-3-2 W-L, 0.80 GAA, 54 Saves, .818 SV%, 8 SHO in 2022

(RV) Ottawa (Kan.)

• 2022 Record: 11-4-5
• Last Game: Lost vs. Saint Mary (Kan.) – 5-3 – Nov. 9, 2022 – Wichita, Kan. (KCAC Semifinal)
• Series vs MACU: First Meeting
• Last Game vs MACU: N/A
• Series Streak: N/A
• Players to Watch:
  • Bence Molnar – JR – F
    • All-KCAC 1^st Team, 21 Goals, 8 Assists in 2022
  • Slobodan Novicevic – SO – F
    • KCAC Freshman of the Year, All-KCAC 1^st Team, 15 Goals, 8 Assists in 2022
  • Jack Hatswell – SR – M
    • All-KCAC 2^nd Team, 2 Assists, 20 GP, 20 GS, 1588 Minutes in 2022
  • Fillipo Della Pasqua
    • All-KCAC 2^nd Team, 1 Goal, 20 GP, 20 GS, 1597 Minutes in 2022