BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – The No. 14 MACU Men's Soccer team suffered its first loss of the season in one of its most challenging road matches of the season as the Evangels fell 2-1 at No. 6 Oklahoma Wesleyan at the OKWU Soccer Complex on Friday night.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – OKWU – 26:50 – Goal: Kirill Pakhomov (1) – OKWU 1, MACU 0
• 1^st Half – MACU – 33:11 – Goal: Enzo Nogue (4) – MACU 1, OKWU 1
• 2^nd Half – OKWU – 55:23 – Goal: Nikita Pakhomov (2), Assist: Nemanja Vukovic – OKWU 2, MACU 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Offense came at a premium for both teams in the opening half as neither team managed to muster a shot on-goal until Oklahoma Wesleyan (3-1) found the opening score in the 27^th minute on Kirill Pakhomov's free kick goal from just outside the 18-yard box caught the Evangels off-guard, slipping the 22-yard floater inside the left post to make it a 1-0 game.
  • In the 34^th minute, Mid-America Christian (3-1-2) found the equalizer when Federico Palacios was taken down by an OKWU defender inside the box, setting the Evangels up with a penalty kick. Stepping to the spot, Enzo Nogue slipped in his second penalty shot goal of the season inside the lower left post to make it a 1-1 game.
  • Neither team could muster a shot on for the remainder of the half as the two teams went into the half with a 1-1 draw.
• Second Half
  • The Eagles found the winning strike in the 56^th minute when Nikita Pakhomov received a centering pass from the left from Nemanja Vukovic and rifled a 28-yard strike through the box that found the inside right post to make it a 2-1 OKWU advantage.
  • Oklahoma Wesleyan had a couple of opportunities to add to its advantage in the 58^th and 69^th minutes, but MACU goalkeeper Claudio Fuentealba notched a pair of saves to keep it to a one-goal deficit.
  • Mid-America Christian struggled to get an offensive attack going against the OKWU defense as the only three shot attempts of the half came from the feet of Jimmy Cabrera and Nicolas Cervantes in the 72^nd, 77^th and 81^st minutes, but the Evangels were unable to put either shot on-target as the Eagles held on for the 2-1 win.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian struggled to get the attack going as its lone shot on-goal came off the penalty kick and mustered just four for the contest while the defense held Oklahoma Wesleyan to 12 shots with only four finding the frame.
• The goal for Enzo Nogue marked his team-leading fourth goal of the season, moving his season point total to 10 on the season.
• While MACU goalkeeper Claudio Fuentealba notched a pair of saves, the senior keeper suffered his first loss as a member of the Evangels over 23 starts in that time frame.
• With the defeat, Oklahoma Wesleyan evened the all-time series at 4-4 since the 2006 season.

COACH AARON HOXIE'S ANALYSIS

• "Top level game tonight. The boys were excellent in moments, especially the first half, where we showed our quality."
• "In the second half, we were a stop slow, a little fatigued and they rose to a different level. In those moments, we were a bit naive and couldn't quite get to them."
• "Very happy with the subs. They stabilized us in the second half and we started growing into it. We almost had the equalizer, but it wasn't to be today. There were lessons to be learned for everyone and we will get after it next week."

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will return home on Tuesday as the Evangels will face off against another foe from the KCAC in Friend. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Dill Soccer Field.