CHICKASHA, Okla. – The MACU Women's Soccer team was unable to overcome soggy conditions at McLaughlin Field in the Sooner Athletic Conference Semifinal as the Evangels suffered a 5-0 defeat to No. 21 Science & Arts on Friday night.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – USAO – 25:09 – Goal: Ilse de Jong (11) – USAO 1, MACU 0
• 1^st Half – USAO – 33:42 – Goal: Ilse de Jong (12) – USAO 2, MACU 0
• 2^nd Half – USAO – 68:52 – Goal: Ilse de Jong (13) – USAO 3, MACU 0
• 2^nd Half – USAO – 70:54 – Goal: Daniela Salinas (18), Assist: Ashlee Davidson – USAO 4, MACU 0
• 2^nd Half – USAO – 87:03 – Goal: Emali Goulas (4), Assist: Daniela Salinas – USAO 5, MACU 0

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • It was an offensive struggle for both teams through the first 25 minutes as there were only two on-target shots by the Drovers but Mid-America Christian (14-3-2) goalkeeper Rachel Torres was able to stop both of them to keep the match level.
  • Just over 25 minutes into the contest, Science & Arts (17-1-1) finally managed to put through the game-winner off the foot of Ilse de Jong to make it a 1-0 game.
  • Alissa Taylor had an opportunity to score the equalizer with a header in the 32^nd minute that was snared by USAO goalkeeper Ashly Lonberg to keep the Drovers lead intact.
  • The Drovers pushed across one more just a minute later when de Jong got herself on the brace with her second goal of the match to send Science & Arts into the break with a 2-0 advantage.
• Second Half
  • While MACU struggled to find opportunities to come back in the match, the Drovers all but put the game out of reach during the midway portion of the second half.
  • In the 69^th minute, Ilse de Jong recorded the hat trick with her third goal of the match before one of the SAC's top goal scorers Daniela Salinas found the back of the net off an Ashlee Davidson assist in the 71^st minute to make it a 4-0 contest.
  • The Drovers netted their final goal of the match in the final three minutes as Emali Goulas netted her fourth goal of the year off the Salinas assist to wrap-up the 5-0 final.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian was unable to generate much of an effective attack in the wet field conditions as the Drovers held an 18-8 shot advantage with an overwhelming 13-2 margin in shots on-goal.
• Brae Baker led MACU's attacking efforts with four of the team's eight shots, but was unable to find the frame on any of her attempts.
• Even though Rachel Torres was able to tally her third-most saves in a match on the season with eight stops, the five goals allowed were the most allowed by the senior goalkeeper after never allowing more than three in a match previously in her three-year Evangels career.
• Despite MACU making it to the SAC Semifinal for the fifth time in the last six years, the Evangels have not quite been able to make it over the final four hump as MACU has been eliminated in the semifinal round in all five trips.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will now await to see where it will be competing in the postseason as the Evangels are going to be in strong consideration for an at-large bid to the NAIA Tournament, which would be the program's first NAIA tourney bid it MACU is selected.
• The NAIA Tournament Selection Show will take place on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. streaming on the NAIA's Urban Edge Network page.