OKLAHOMA CITY – For the third-straight year, Mid-America Christian is hosting the NAIA Tournament First and Second Rounds as the No. 9 MACU Men's Soccer team will take on No. 19 LSU Shreveport in the second round match on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at the Dill Soccer Field.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 14-2-4 (7-0-2 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost vs. (RV) Oklahoma City – 1-0 – Nov. 12, 2024 – Dill Soccer Field (SAC Championship)
• Top Performers:
  • Enzo Nogue – SR – F/M
    • 9 Goals, 5 Assists, 23 Points, 21 Shots, 15 SOG, 3 GWG
  • Federico Palacios – SO – F
    • 5 Goals, 3 Assists, 13 Points, 23 Shots, 13 SOG, 1 GWG
  • Tony Ngombi – JR – F
    • 1 Goal, 7 Assists, 9 Points, 13 Shots, 4 SOG, 1 GWG
  • Claudio Fuentealba – SR – GK
    • 12-2-3 W-L, 0.66 GAA, 34 Saves, .756 SV%, 6 SHO, 3 CBO
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian is making its way into the NAIA Tournament after capturing its fourth consecutive Sooner Athletic Conference regular season after going 7-0-2 in league play. However, the Evangels will be looking to shake off a disappointing result in the SAC Tournament Championship match after Oklahoma City came to the Dill Soccer Field and walked away with the 1-0 victory on Nov. 12.
  • The result snapped an incredible undefeated run for the Evangels at the Dill Soccer Field as MACU had not lost a match at home since the 2020 COVID-19 year when the Evangels suffered a 1-0 defeat to Southwestern Christian on Mar. 23, 2021. Since that match, the Evangels hadn't lost a match in 52 consecutive games before that SAC title tilt.
  • In their previous home NAIA Tournament matches, the Evangels own a 2-0-1 record. During their host bid in 2022, the Evangels picked up a 2-1 win over Bellevue in the First Round before defeating Oklahoma Wesleyan 2-0 in the Second Round to advance to the national site. The Evangels hosted Bellevue once again in last season's Second Round contest, but after playing to a 3-3 draw through 110 minutes, the Evangels were unable to advance to the final site as the Bruins advanced by a 7-6 result in the postgame shootout.
  • MACU's aggressive pressing style has caused it to be one of the best defensive sides in the entire NAIA as the Evangels rank sixth in the nation in goals allowed average at 0.70. Overall, it is one of the best defensive seasons for MACU in program history as the only other time the Evangels ranked in the top 10 in defensive efficiency was during its incredible 2022 run where MACU ranked third in the NAIA with a 0.47 goals allowed average.

SCOUTING REPORT
LSU Shreveport

• Record: 13-3-4 (11-0-2 RRAC)
• Last Game: Lost vs. Louisiana Christian – 1-0 – Nov. 12, 2024 – Shreveport, La. (RRAC Semifinal)
• Series vs MACU (2009-): MACU leads 2-1
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 1-0 – Aug. 24, 2023 – Dill Soccer Field
• Series Streak: MACU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Jack Thomas – JR – M
    • 14 Goals, 5 Assists, 33 Points, 51 Shots, 27 SOG, 3 GWG
  • Guillermo Ferreiro – JR – F
    • 8 Goals, 5 Assists, 21 Points, 48 Shots, 23 SOG, 2 GWG
  • Joel Trueb – SO – F
    • 5 Goals, 8 Assists, 18 Points, 26 Shots, 15 SOG, 2 GWG
  • Kyle Mcleish – SR – GK
    • 11-3-3 W-L, 0.99 GAA, 54 Saves, .783 SV%, 6 SHO, 1 CBO
• Team Notes:
  • Much like the Evangels, LSU Shreveport enters the NAIA Tournament as the regular season champions of the Red River Athletic Conference, but also fell in the RRAC Tournament to eventual league tourney champion Louisiana Christian 1-0 in the Semifinal on Nov. 12.
  • The Pilots enter the contest as the second-best scoring offense from the RRAC as LSUS is averaging 2.45 goals per game while also being very strong on the defensive end, allowing the second-best goals allowed average in the RRAC at 0.94.
  • Leading the LSUS attack is All-RRAC First Team performer junior midfielder Jack Thomas, who has netted 14 goals and dished out five assists for 33 points. The Co-RRAC Newcomer of the Year Joel Trueb leads the Pilots distribution efforts with eight assists. On the back end, RRAC Defensive Player of the Year Caleb Marchany has been an enormous piece of LSUS's success while senior goalkeeper Kyle Mcleish has been solid in the net, posting a 0.99 goals allowed average while making 54 saves for a .783 save percentage.
  • The LSUS program is no stranger to MACU or the Dill Soccer Field as the head coach of the Pilots program is Adam Kay. On-top of serving as an assistant coach for the Evangels during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Kay went on to become the head coach at Southwestern Christian, where he led the Eagles to the 2020-21 SAC regular season title while also earning the SAC Coach of the Year honor.  Kay is in his second year at the helm of the Pilots program after spending one season as the head coach at NCAA D-II Davis & Elkins College in West Virginia.
  • Saturday's meeting will mark just the fourth ever meeting between Mid-America Christian and LSU Shreveport, but will also mark the second time in the last four years. The Pilots came to the Dill Soccer Field for a non-conference match on Aug. 24 as the Evangels came away with the 1-0 victory on the game-winning goal scored by Henry Tolbert in the 41^st minute off the assist from Enzo Nogue.