FORT WORTH, Texas – Facing off against one of the top scoring teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference on its Senior Day, the No. 15 MACU Men's Soccer squad was able to handle Texas Wesleyan's potent offense, holding the Rams to just a single goal on their Senior Day to come away with a 3-1 victory at Martin Field on Saturday afternoon.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – MACU – 8:29 – Goal: Mario Garcia (3), Assist: Pietro Musso – MACU 1, TXWES 0
• 1^st Half – MACU – 19:20 – Goal: Tony Ngombi (1) – MACU 2, TXWES 0
• 2^nd Half – TXWES – 53:49 – Goal: Matteo Todorovic, Assist: Louis Guffroy – MACU 2, TXWES 1
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 82:43 – Goal: Oscar Gallardo (1), Assist: Pietro Musso 0 – MACU 3, TXWES 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • It didn't take long for Mid-America Christian (10-1-3, 5-0-1 SAC) to put across the go-ahead goal on its first scoring chance in the ninth minute when Tony Ngombi intercepted a deep free kick from the Rams' defensive third in the midfield and dribbled up before finding Pietro Musso breaking on the run. Musso then relayed a perfect pass from the right baseline to Mario Garcia unmarked on the left side of the goal, punching in the open eight-yarder to set the score to 1-0.
  • The Evangels managed to put two more shots on-target in the 14^th and 19^th minutes from Carlos Lobo and Enzo Nogue, but Texas Wesleyan (7-6-2, 1-3-2 SAC) goalkeeper Jesus Diaz was able to stop both shots to keep MACU from adding to its lead.
  • In the 20^th minute, Ngombi broke into the scoring column with a goal of his own when he made a sensational defensive play on the right side to pickpocket a Rams defender trying to clear the ball on a half-volley before dribbling in toward the midfield around two defenders. Ngombi then rifled a long-distance 25-yard left-footed strike into the top left corner to make it a 2-0 game.
  • Neither team was able to put another chance on-frame for the final 25 minutes as MACU went into the half with the 2-0 advantage.
• Second Half
  • Texas Wesleyan made some solid adjustments coming out of the half as the Rams were the first team in the second stanza to put a shot on-goal in the 50^th minute, but Louis Guffroy's 23-yard right side strike toward the left post was well-read by MACU goalkeeper Claudio Fuentealba, who made the running save.
  • The Rams finally found the net in the 54^th minute off a free kick. Set up with a free kick about 30-yards out from MACU's goal, Louis Guffroy's free kick was put into the box and after initially being cleared out to the foot of Matteo Todorovic, who fired in a cross-box 18-yard strike inside the left post to cut the deficit to 2-1.
  • After struggling to get a shot on-frame for the rest of the half, Mid-America Christian finally capitalized in the 83^rd minute. After Nogue played a short corner to Ngombi from the left side, Ngombi put it back to the feet of Nogue near the top left of the 18-yard box. After dribbling around two defenders, he sent a dime of a pass in toward the right post that Musso got a piece of before ending up to a wide-open Oscar Gallardo, who flicked up the pass to himself and headed it in in through the hands of the keeper and into the back of the net to seal the 3-1 victory.

MATCH SUMMARY

• In the defensive slugfest, Mid-America Christian managed to be the more aggressive team on the offensive end, outshooting Texas Wesleyan 9-4 while also maintaining a 6-3 edge in shots on-goal.
• The goal scored by Mario Garcia went down as his third of the season, boosting his season point total to eight.
• Not only did Tony Ngombi net his first career Evangels goal, but it also went down as his first game-winning score.
• Oscar Gallardo also netted his first career MACU goal while the assist for Pietro Musso was his second of the match, his fourth of the season and the sixth of this two-year MACU carer.
• Claudio Fuentealba improved to 9-1-2 in-goal this season after conceding only one goal and made two saves.
• The 54^th minute score by the Texas Wesleyan snapped an impressive stretch held by MACU's defense, which hadn't allowed a goal in 368-straight minutes. However, facing a high-powered offense that ranks second in the conference in goal-scoring, the Evangels held the Rams to a season-low four shots, tying their lowest output since suffering a 3-1 defeat to Louisiana Christian on Aug. 18.
• The win allowed the Evangels to capture their ninth consecutive win against the Rams since the 2017 season.
• By reaching the 10-win plateau, MACU has now won 10 or more matches in each of the last eight seasons.
• The victory also allowed MACU to hold on to their top spot in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings at 16 conference points, sitting a single point ahead of John Brown (15, 5-1), who held off Nelson for a 2-1 win on Saturday night.

COACH AARON HOXIE'S ANALYSIS

• "This game was always going to be interesting due to a couple of factors. First, the environment down here is always difficult to play in. The trip itself and credit to TXWES, they make it extremely difficult to play against. Second, we are always getting team's best efforts, so it's important to go to a different level in order to compensate. Easier said than done."
• "Today wasn't about playing pretty, it was about playing ugly…and we got a bunch of ugly dudes in that locker room, just itching to grind it out for 90 minutes. It was all about heart and desire. We've earned our way to the top of the table and now defense number one is out of the way. Three more to go."
• "We've got a massive contest Tuesday, a proper derby…time to take an Icy-Hot bath, grease up those hammies and get after it."

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will now prepare for its final home game of the regular season on Tuesday as the Evangels host crosstown rival Southwestern Christian for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff at the Dill Soccer Field.