OKLAHOMA CITY – A four-year competitor for the No. 14 MACU Men's Soccer program, Emanuele Grumo has had few chances to play the hero for the Evangels. However, with just over two minutes left in their final regular season non-conference game, the senior defender re-directed the game-winner into the back of the net to propel MACU to a 2-1 win over William Woods at the Dill Soccer Field on Saturday.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – WWU – 17:41 – Goal: David Fink (5), Assists: Charlie Williams, Pedro Salmon – WWU 1, MACU 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 79:45 – Goal: Federico Palacios (2), Assists: Francois Geris-Rey, Nicolas Cervantes – MACU 1, WWU 1
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 88:01 – Goal: Emanuele Grumo (1), Assists: Mario Gomez, Enzo Nogue – MACU 2, WWU 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • William Woods (4-2-2) commanded the early possession, outshooting the Evangels 6-1 through the first 20 minutes as the Owls took the lead in the 18^th minute.
  • On the opening scoring play, Pedro Salmon dribbled through the left side of the MACU defense before delivering a pass to Charlie Williams in the midfield. Williams found David Fink on the relay to the right side of the box as he took a one-time cutback to his left before ripping a low-liner inside the lower left post from 20-yards out.
  • While the Evangels struggled to find scoring chances through the first 40 minutes, Mid-America Christian (5-1-2) had some excellent chances come their way in the final five minutes. With just over three-and-a-half minutes to go, a drive into the right side of the box before Nicolas Cervantes received a pass and rifled a shot from eight-yards out. However, a slight deflection off an Owls player caused the shot to deflect off the right post and out for a corner.
  • MACU's next-best chance came on the ensuing corner when Toby Lansdowne's corner found the head of Sebastian Rebolledo in the middle of the box, but it ricochet off the middle of the crossbar before being cleared away as the Owls held on to their 1-nil advantage going into the half.
• Second Half
  • After a tough-and-tumble defensive struggle for most of the second half, MACU was finally able to put through the equalizer with just over 10 minutes to go.
  • On the game-tying play, a sensational through ball down the right sideline was tracked down by Nicolas Cervantes, the sophomore forward cut back into the middle of the box to attempt a potential shot. After the WWU defense collapsed, Cervantes made a great read to Francois Geris-Rey breaking toward the right post, who then quickly relayed it back into the center of the six-yard box for Palacios to punch it in from close range, drawing the game even at 1-1.
  • With 3:40 to go, Claudio Fuentealba made one of the biggest plays of the game to keep it to a tie contest as left-side cross found the head of Breck McGrail within the six-yard box, but the senior keeper was able to quickly react to knock the ball down and scoop it up before the Owls could follow-up.
  • After Enzo Nogue had a potential game-winning header blocked out of play in the 88^th minute, the senior captain would make a huge play to give the Evangels the game-winner. After he had his short corner sent back to him on the right side, Nogue lofted an excellent deep ball toward the right post. The keeper tried to intercept the deep cross, but it was out of his reach as Mario Garcia redirected a header back in toward the middle for Emanuele Grumo to punch-in the uncontested point-blank shot for what would ultimately be the game-winner with just over two minutes left.
  • The Owls had one last chance at an equalizer with just under 30 seconds left as a left side corner eventually ended up to the right side of the box after a couple of deflections before being relayed back to the top of the box for Anthony Lint. However, his half-volley toward goal was snared by Fuentealba for the save to seal the 2-1 win.

MATCH NOTES

• Both teams were evenly matched on the offensive end as William Woods held a slim 16-14 shooting advantage, but the Evangels were slightly more effective at putting their opportunities on-target as both teams finished with five shots on-goal..
• The game-winning goal for Emanuele Grumo marked the first goal of his four-year Evangels career. The assist for Garcia on the play was the first of his MACU career while Enzo Nogue's assist was his third of the season, extending his team-leading point total to 13.
• After scoring just one goal during his freshman season, Federico Palacios netted his second of two goals just this week after netting the game-winner against Friends on Tuesday. The assists for Francois Geris-Rey and Nicolas Cervantes went down as the pair's first dimes this season.
• Senior goalkeeper Claudio Fuentealba tallied his 19^th career win after recording four saves and gave up just one goal for an .800 save percentage for the match, improving to 4-1-1 on the season in-net.
• MACU continued to play hard in a tightly contested contest as all eight of the Evangels' results this season have been decided by no more than one goal.
• MACU also took the early series lead against William Woods as the two teams met for the first time in the two programs' respective histories. The Owls were yet another high-quality non-conference opponent as William Woods was receiving votes in the last NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll.

COACH AARON HOXIE'S ANALYSIS

• "So many emotions going on at the moment, but it's not about me. It's about the boys, particularly the subs who came in and made a massive difference, particularly in the first half when we were really struggling."
• "The scouting report was simple track runners, don't get beat on the dribble, focus on transitions and no turnovers in our third…what an absolute struggle. Again, proud of the second unit making a difference."
• "In the second half, we won the game because we simply had the desire, work ethic and the correct attitude to do so. We've got a word for it in the team and they were on full display, 120 yards this way, 70 yards that way…just men…massive."
• "The other reason we won the game is because we had some great individual moments, particularly Claudio on the point-blank header, which is necessary to overcome a really determined opponent. Full credit to William Woods and their coach Tommy (Nienhaus), he had his boys prepped and ready to go. That's a really good side and we got their best today."

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will now prepare to start Sooner Athletic Conference play on Saturday, Sept. 28 as the Evangels host Wayland Baptist (Texas) for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff at the Dill Soccer Field. The MACU soccer programs will also be celebrating Alumni Day festivities throughout the day.