OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Women's Soccer team will get its Sooner Athletic Conference schedule underway on Saturday as the Evangels host Wayland Baptist for their annual Alumni Game for a noon kickoff on Saturday at the Dill Soccer Field.

The Evangels will hold their alumni ceremony prior to the start of the men's contest and there will be a tent set us in the northwest entrance to the field to welcome the returning alumni.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 5-1-2
• Last Game: Lost at (RV) Bellevue (Neb.) – 1-0 – Sept. 21, 2024 – Papillion, Neb.
• Top Performers:
  • Stephanie Arrivillaga – FR – F
    • 6 Goals, 1 Assist, 13 Points, 22 Shots, 12 SOG, 2 GWG
  • Brae Baker – SO – F
    • 5 Goals, 3 Assists, 13 Points, 41 Shots, 25 SOG
  • Francesca Martella – GR – M
    • 5 Assists, 5 Points, 18 Shots, 4 SOG
  • Rachel Torres – SR – GK
    • 5-1-2 W-L, 0.69 GAA, 30 Saves, .857 SV%, 3 SHO
• Team Notes:
  • While Mid-America Christian put up a very tough fight in its final non-conference road match at Bellevue last Saturday, the Evangels struggled to find a rhythm in the attack after losing their team captain graduate student midfielder Francesca Martella 10 minutes into the match due to a head injury as MACU fell 1-0 in the contest.
  • Despite coming up short in the result, MACU got a stellar performance from its senior goalkeeper Rachel Torres, who tallied a career-high nine saves for a .900 save percentage. Torres was selected as both the SAC Defensive Player of the Week and NCCAA Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week after the team wrapped up a stellar three-match road trip with a 1-1-1 record while the stopper allowed only two goals and tallied 18 saves over the three-game slate.
  • Fourth-year head coach Anthony Yousey once again had his team put together some stellar non-conference results as a 1-1 draw at No. 10 Columbia, a Cougars team that went on to defeat last year's SAC Champion No. 12 John Brown 3-0 in the following match. Overall, Yousey's team the last two years has posted a combined non-conference record of 12-2-2 before starting Sooner Athletic Conference play.
  • After some strong road results, Mid-America Christian found itself back in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll consideration as the Evangels are receiving votes. MACU is one of three SAC teams mentioned in the poll as John Brown is ranked No. 19 while Science & Arts broke in with a tie at No. 24.

SCOUTING REPORT
Wayland Baptist (Texas)

• Record: 1-5
• Last Match: Lost vs. UT-Permian Basin – 6-2 – Sept. 19, 2024 – Plainview, Texas
• Series vs MACU (2007-): Series tied 8-8-4
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 2-1 – Oct. 17, 2023 – Plainview, Texas
• Series Streak: MACU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Elaina Barrientes – JR – F
    • 3 Goals, 1 Assist, 7 Points, 9 Shots, 6 SOG, 1 GWG
  • Meagan Picon – GR – F
    • 1 Goal, 2 Points, 10 Shots, 6 SOG
  • Raelyn Stone – SO – GK
    • 0-2 W-L, 2.09 GAA, 26 Saves, .788 SV%
• Team Notes:
  • It has been an all-around struggle Wayland Baptist to start the 2024 season. The Pioneers enter SAC competition as the league's lowest scoring offense, netting just five goals with three assists for 13 points through six matches while the defense has allowed a league-high 21 goals, averaging 3.50 scores allowed per game.
  • Junior forward Elaina Barrientes is the only Pioneer to net more than one goal this season as she owns three of the team's five scores while also tallying an assist for seven points. Graduate student forward Meagan Picon has been the most assertive player in the Wayland Baptist attacking third as she's netted one goal on 10 shots with six landing on-frame.
  • WBU has split time in-goal between sophomores Raelyn Stone and Ava Kent. Stone has been the more effective of the two keepers, notching a 2.09 goals allowed average with a .788 save percentage while Kent is allowing 5.27 goals with a .563 save percentage.
  • The rivalry that started between the two programs in 2007 has been a tightly contested one as the Evangels and Pioneers have split all 20 previous meetings at 8-8 with four ties. Neither team has been able to muster a win streak in the series since MACU picked up a 2-0 win in Plainview, Texas on Oct. 14, 2016 before coming away with a 6-0 win at the Dill Soccer Field on Sept. 26, 2017. In their meeting last season, Alissa Taylor netted a goal just before the half before Jasie Eischen scored the game-winner in the 57^th minute as MACU held on for a hard-fought 2-1 road win on Oct. 17.