OKLAHOMA CITY – With the 2023 season just weeks from getting underway, the Mid-America Christian men's soccer team goes in with strong expectations once again as the Evangels were picked as the Sooner Athletic Conference favorite after leading the league's preseason poll that was announced on Wednesday.
Voted upon by the league's 10 head coaches, MACU led the way with 87 points while also collecting eight of the 10 first-place votes. SAC Tournament runner-up Science & Arts finished second in the poll with 77 points, just barely edging out John Brown in third with 74 points and Southwestern Christian in fourth with 72 points.
While the Evangels will be led by first-year head coach Neil Hilton in his third season on the MACU coaching staff, Mid-America Christian will be headlined by 2022 SAC Freshman of the Year Diego Real, who dished out 11 assists for the second-most dimes in one season in the history of the program.
The MACU backline will also be in good hands with senior center-back Kareem Williams making his return after being an All-SAC First Team honoree last season. The Kingston, Jamaica native logged the second-most minutes on the team last year at 1905 while also netting a pair of goals. Overall, Williams helped spearhead one of the most elite defenses in the nation, allowing just 0.47 goals on 6.9 shots and just 2.7 shots on-goal per game.
Offensively, MACU will be looking to senior forward Jack Price to take over more of a scoring role with the departure of the program's all-time leading scorer Rodrigo Albuquerque. The forward from London, England has made a major impact in the Evangels attack over the past two seasons, netting 15 goals and dishing out 10 assists for the 10th-most career points in MACU's NAIA Era record book with 40. Price also sits just outside the career top 10 in goals scored (15) and assists (10), needing just one more of each to break into the book.
Despite losing two-thirds of last year's roster, primarily to graduation, the Evangels have reloaded with some big-time talent, especially in the attack with the addition of Charlie Betts. Overall, Betts has three years of collegiate playing experience after transferring from NCAA Division I North Florida, Betts previously spent two seasons at NAIA powerhouse Milligan (Tenn.). In two seasons with the Buffaloes in 2020 and 2021, Betts netted 15 goals and dished out 12 assists, earning NAIA All-America Honorable Mention nods in 2021.
MACU is also expecting a strong youth movement on the roster this year as Hilton expects multiple freshmen to make an impact early in the season, including Switzerland standout midfielder Yasha Schaerer and Santa Fe South star Jimmy Cabrera.
Mid-America Christian will officially kick-off the season with a high-profile matchup against LSU-Shreveport on August 24. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 pm at the Dill Soccer Field.
