OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 2 MACU men's soccer will face a pair of tough tests in its final non-conference home matches of the season as the Evangels host Arizona Christian at the Dill Soccer Field at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday before battling Bellevue (Neb.) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 4-0-1
• Last Match: Tied at No. 15 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) – 2-2 – Sept. 4, 2023 – Olathe, Kan.
• Top Performers:
  • Charlie Betts – JR – F
    • 2 Goals, 1 Assist, 5 Points, 9 Shots, 3 SOG
  • Kolby Godbolt – JR – F
    • 2 Goals, 4 Points, 7 Shots, 3 SOG, 1 GWG
  • Jack Price – SR – F
    • 2 Goals, 4 Points, 5 Shots, 4 SOG, 2 GWG
  • Claudio Fuentealba – JR – GK
    • 4-0 W-L, 0.75 GAA, 8 Saves, .727 SV%, 2 SHO
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian is coming off a stellar showing in a pair of non-conference top 25 matches at Pioneer Field on the campus of MidAmerica Nazarene on Sept. 2 and Sept. 4. After defeating No. 7 Missouri Valley 3-1 to open the Labor Day weekend, the Evangels rallied from two goals down against No. 15 MidAmerica Nazarene. After getting a 77^th-minute score from Phil Appelt off a corner kick, an unbelievable strike by freshman forward Federico Palacios from 25-yards out with 24 seconds left allowed a short-handed Evangels squad to escape from Pioneer Field with a 2-2 draw.
  • Facing five teams that are either ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 poll through the first three weeks of the season, the Evangels have been highly rated in the first two NAIA Top 25 polls of the season, climbing up to a tie for the No. 2 spot in the first ranking released on Sept. 6 before claiming the spot outright in this week's poll, sitting only behind the 2022 NAIA National Champion Bethel (Ind.).
  • Outscoring their opponents 10-5 through the first five matches, the Evangels have especially started to find a rhythm on the offensive end in the last three games, netting eight of their 10 scores against three Top 25 foes (No. 16 Grace, No. 7 Missouri Valley, No. 15 MidAmerica Nazarene).
  • The Evangels success has stemmed primarily from a stout defensive presence thus far, allowing its opposition to attempt just 7.2 shots and placing only 2.8 of those tries on-frame and giving up just one goal per game.

SCOUTING REPORT
(RV) Arizona Christian

• Record: 4-1
• Last Match: Won vs. (RV) Oregon Tech – 2-1 – Sept. 7, 2023 – Glendale, Ariz.
• Series vs MACU (2019-): MACU leads 2-0
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 2-0 – Oct. 8, 2020 – Dill Soccer Field
• Series Streak: MACU won 2
• Players to Watch:
  • Marlon Arce – JR – M
    • 3 Goals, 6 Points, 12 Shots, 10 SOG, 1 GWG
  • Cristhian Flores – JR – F
    • 2 Goals, 4 Points, 8 Shots, 5 SOG
  • Jose Garcia – FR – M
    • 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 3 Points, 5 Shots, 2 SOG, 1 GWG
  • Carlos Gallardo – SR – GK
    • 4-1 W-L, 0.80 GAA, 20 Saves, .833 SV%, 1 SHO
• Team Notes:
  • Competing in its first road match of the season, Arizona Christian has been very competitive in all five of its matches so far this season, winning all four of its matches by two goals or less with the Firestorm's lone defeat coming in a 1-0 result against Southern Oregon on Sept. 2.
  • Much like the Evangels, ACU has doubled up the scoring on its opponents by a 8-4 margin while holding a slim 72-66 edge over its foes in shots, including 32-25 in shots on-goal.
  • So far through the season, only junior midfielder Marlon Arce and junior forward Cristhain Flores have netted multiple goals for the Firestorm with Arce scoring three and Flores tallying two. On defense, Carlos Gallardo has been a strong stopper in-goal, recording a 0.80 goals allowed average while saving 83.3 percent of the shots he's faced.
  • Thursday night's matchup will mark the third all-time meeting between the two programs with all of the previous meetings coming in the last five years. In their first ever matchup in Phoenix on Sept. 2, 2019, the Evangels came away with the 1-nil victory on Simon Van Rheeden's game-winner in the 81^st minute before MACU picked up the win on its home turf on Oct. 8, 2020, coming away with the 2-0 result on goals scored by Rodrigo Albuquerque and Dante Luz.

Bellevue (Neb.)

• Record: 4-3-2
• Last Match: Won vs. (RV) Grand View (Iowa) – 2-0 – Sept. 12, 2023 – Dill Soccer Field
• Series vs MACU (2020-): MACU leads 4-0
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 2-1 (OT) – Nov. 17, 2022 – Dill Soccer Field (NAIA Tournament – 1^st Round)
• Series Streak: MACU won 4
• Players to Watch:
  • Fletcher Hedge – SO – D
    • 3 Goals, 1 Assist, 7 Points, 8 Shots, 5 SOG
  • Ombeni Mubake – JR – F
    • 3 Goals, 6 Points, 16 Shots, 9 SOG, 1 GWG
  • Gabriel Dias Juliani – SO – F
    • 2 Goals, 1 Assist, 5 Points, 7 Shots, 6 SOG, 1 GWG
  • Taariq Ganga – JR – GK
    • 4-3-2 W-L, 1.00 GAA, 33 Saves, .786 SV%, 4 SHO
• Team Notes:
  • One of the powerhouse programs in the NAIA over the last 20 years, Bellevue has had a very busy schedule to start the 2023 season, starting off the year with nine matches through the first four weeks with a 4-3-2 start to the year. The Bruins are coming off a strong showing in a 2-0 win over Grand View (Iowa) on Sept. 12.
  • BU features a balanced offensive attack with eight different players scoring the Bruins 14 goals, led by sophomore defender Fletcher Hedge and junior forward Ombeni Mubake netting three goals apiece.
  • The Bruins have been a tough team defensively, giving up just one goal on 10.6 shots, 4.7 of which are on-goal per game.
  • A recent frequent rivalry, MACU and Bellevue will be facing each other for the fifth time in the last four seasons. Even though MACU has dominated the series, it has been a relatively in three of the four previous bouts. The two squads last met up in last year's NAIA Tournament First Round match at the Dill Soccer Field on Nov. 17 when Rodrigo Albuquerque netted the game-winning goal with 23 seconds left in overtime to secure the 2-1 victory.