OKLAHOMA CITY -– The MACU Women's Soccer team out-shot winless Kansas Wesleyan on but failed to convert multiple scoring opportunities as the Evangels and Coyotes battled to a 1-1 draw in their first ever meeting at Dill Soccer Field on Wednesday night.

SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – KWU – 23:00 – Goal: Talia Walsh (1); Assists: Leslie Serrato, Precious Nwosu – MACU 0 KWU 1
• 1^st Half – MACU– 26:41 – Goal: Brae Baker (3); Assist: Francesca Martella – MACU 1 KWU 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • The light-scoring Coyotes — one goal through four previous games —got on the scoreboard first with a goal by forward Talia Walsh in the 23^rd minute, giving Kansas Wesleyan (0-4-1) the 1-0 advantage.It was the first goal of the season by Walsh, who  beat MACU defender Cammy Hargrove to a pass from teammate Leslie Serrato in front of the goal and kicked it past goalkeeper Rachel Torres.
  • Brae Baker, the Oklahoma Baptist transfer, delivered the equalizer for MACU in the 27^th minute to tie the score. On the play, teammate Francesca Martella intercepted a bad pass from KWU keeper Bailey Mann and found Baker, who dribbled her way into position to drive a shot past Mann for her third goal.
  • The Coyotes had a near miss in the in the 36^th minute when Rylie Moreno-Rojas put a shot from the top left corner of the 18-yard box that pinged off the crossbar before being cleared away, keeping it to a 1-1 game going into the half.
  • MACU attempted more shots than Kansas Wesleyan by a 17-6 margin and owned a 6-1 advantage in shots on goal but couldn't connect on multiple opportunities in the first half.
• Second Half
  • Mann stopped four shots for the Coyotes, including kicks by Jasie Eischen in the 52nd minute and Brae Baker in the 57^th minute.
  • The Evangels best second half chance came in the 53^rd minute when Francesca Martella put a stellar long-distance strike on that ricochet off bottom of the crossbar before being scooped up by the Coyotes keeper.
  • Mid-America Christian got one more opportunity with just 38 seconds remaining off the foot of Brae Baker, but she was unable to generate much power behind the 16-yard strike as Mann fell on the ball to retain the 1-1 tie.
  • Torres saved three shots for MACU, including one by Emma Gervy in the 49^th minute and another by Precious Nwosu in the 67^th minute.

MATCH NOTES
 

• For the fifth-straight game, Mid-America Christian dominated the possession, out-shooting the Coyotes by a commanding 26-14 margin, but struggled to find quality strikes on-goal by holding just 9-5 on-goal advantage.

• Brae Baker's goal was her third of the season, bringing her season point total to eight while Francesca Martella's assist marked her fifth of the season, marking the 12^th of her career and placing her just outside of MACU's top 10 all-time assists leaders.
• Stephanie Arrivillaga, MACU's leading scorer with six goals and 13 points, was held scoreless for the first time this season. Arrivillaga, a freshman from Guatemala, was named NCCAA Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week after scoring three goals and an assist in home wins over Williams Baptist and Baker last week.
• Overall, Rachel Torres, the reigning SAC Defensive Player of the Week recorded four saves while conceding just one for an .800 save percentage.
• Kansas Wesleyan proved to be a tough out, despite four-straight losses to open the season. The battle-tested Coyotes faced four teams ranked in the NAIA Top 25 heading into the matchup against MACU.

 UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be on-the-road for the next week as the Evangels start a three-game road trip starting on Monday as MACU will battle Missouri Baptist for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Spartan Field in St. Louis.