COLUMBIA, Mo. – With its backs against the wall, the MACU Women's Soccer team came up with a huge 1-1 draw at No. 10 Columbia as Brae Baker netted the game-tying goal with just under three minutes remaining at R. Marvin Owens Field on Wednesday night.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• 2^nd Half – CC – 50:20 – Goal: Delfina Zolesio (2) – CC 1, MACU 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 87:23 – Goal: Brae Baker (5), Assist: Alissa Taylor – MACU 1, CC 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • The first challenge MACU goalkeeper Rachel Torres faced in the first half came in the fourth minute when a right-side cross that was knocked out of the box by the MACU defense ended up at the foot of Izzy Cole, who got a strong-footed open look from 20-yards out which went straight into the lap of the Evangels keeper.
  • The most dangerous chance for the Cougars came in the 18^th minute when a right side cross found a CC forward wide open in the box. However, the challenging attacker struggled to get a shot off before the MACU defense collapsed quickly to force a kick-out to Delfina Zolesio, who fired a 25-yard shot toward the left post that was easily stopped by Torres to keep it square.
  • Columbia (4-1-1) did have one more great look with just under 10 minutes to go off a corner kick, but the Riley Porter shot from 10-yards out was rifled into the mitts of Torres to keep it to a 0-0 game going into the half.
• Second Half
  • Mid-America Christian's best chance at the go-ahead goal came off a free kick in the 49^th minute as Annika Gerdau took a strong shot on from 30-yards out, but CC goalkeeper Natalie Anderson made a sensational save to push the shot over the crossbar to force a corner kick.
  • In the 51^st minute, Columbia found the go-ahead score when the Evangels were called for a foul inside the penalty box off a well-executed corner, forcing a penalty kick. Stepping to the spot, Zolesio blasted the free try inside the top right corner to make it a 1-0 score.
  • In the 78^th minute, Mid-America Christian (5-0-2) had a fantastic chance at an equalizer as a free kick from Gerdau was well-placed in the middle of the box before the ball ended up getting directed off the left post. Moments later, the ball was cleared out to Gladis Avalos, who took a strong 25-yard shot that went right to the Cougars keeper.
  • With 2:36 remaining, Brae Baker came up with the immaculate equalizer. After Alissa Taylor ran down a deep cross into the left side of the box, she kicked it back to Baker tracking back on the left side from about 28-yards from goal. After juking by one defender, she lofted an incredible deep strike toward the top right corner that was out of the reach of the leaping keeper to draw the match even.
  • Neither team managed to muster another scoring opportunity over the final two minutes as MACU held on for the 1-1 draw.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian withstood the tenacious Columbia attack as the Cougars held a 20-5 shot advantage over the Evangels with a 9-3 edge in shots on-goal.
• The equalizing goal scored by Brae Baker marked her fifth of the season while moving her into a tie with Stephanie Arrivillaga for the team's points lead with 13. The assist for Alissa Taylor was her first of the 2024 season.
• Senior goalkeeper Rachel Torres put together one of her strongest performances of the season in-goal as she tied a career-high eight saves, six of which came in the first half while allowing just the penalty kick goal for an outstanding .889 save percentage.
• With the result, Mid-America Christian earned its first ever neutral result against Columbia after the Cougars defeated MACU in their first ever meeting at the Dill Soccer Field on Sept. 12, 2022.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will close out its three-game road trip with its final non-conference game of the regular season on Saturday as the Evangels head to Papillon, Nebraska for a showdown against Bellevue. That contest is slated for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Papillon Landing.