ST. LOUIS – The MACU Women's Soccer team opened its three-match road stand in impressive fashion behind the strong play of the Baker sisters as Asley Baker netted her first career Evangels goal while Brae Baker tallied a goal and an assist in the 2-0 victory over Missouri Baptist at Spartan Field on Monday night.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – MACU – 21:04 – Goal: Asley Baker (1), Assist: Brae Baker – MACU 1, MBU 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 21:04 – Goal: Brae Baker (4), Assist: Caitlin Hirst – MACU 2, MBU 0

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Mid-America Christian (4-0-1) had some early chances before capitalizing off a throw-in as a centering tap by Deborah Silveria to Brae Baker allowed her to tap it forward into the middle of the 18-yard box for her sister Asley Baker. The older sister then rifled a strong 15-yard shot into the left side of the net to make it a 1-0 MACU advantage.
  • The Evangels had a golden chance just before the end of the half when Gladis Avalos intercepted an errant pass to the goalkeeper, but the deflection off her left foot on the takeaway caromed off the left side of the left post and out for a goal kick, keeping the MACU edge to just 1-nil at the break.
• Second Half
  • The Evangels had another strong chance when a take away at midfield found Stephanie Arrivillaga wide open in the breakaway down the middle, but her one-on-one with the keeper was sent just wide left of goal in the 51^st minute.
  • In the 63^rd minute, a strong deep send by Jasie Eischen from the midfield found Caitlin Hirst breaking into the right side of the box as her cross back toward the left post by the keeper for an easy four-yard tap-in for Brae Baker to extend the lead to 2-0.
  • Missouri Baptist (1-6-0) was only able to muster one on-target shot for the entire match, which came from distance off the foot of Skylar Hollingshead. However, the line drive skipper went straight to the feet of MACU goalkeeper Rachel Torres for the easy save.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian downright dominated the possession, out-shooting Missouri Baptist by a 16-7 margin with a 6-1 edge in shots on-goal.
• The goal for senior defender Asley Baker marked the first of her MACU career while the assist for her sister Brae Baker was the third of hers this season.
• Brae Baker's second half goal allowed her to finish with her second three-point game of the season while also becoming MACU's second double-digit point scorer of the season behind her four goals and three dimes for 11 points.
• While not stiffly tested, MACU goalkeeper Rachel Torres notched her third shutout of the season while improving to 5-0-1 in-goal.  
• With the victory, MACU has taken over the all-time series lead by a 2-1 margin over Missouri Baptist.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will face its toughest non-conference challenge of the season on Wednesday as the Evangels head to Columbia, Missouri to battle No. 10 Columbia for a 6 p.m. kickoff at R. Marvin Owens Field.