OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 11 MACU Men's Soccer team looked to be in-danger of playing to another home draw at the Dill Soccer Field on Saturday, but an 85th-minute penalty kick save by senior goalkeeper Claudio Fuentealba preserved MACU's 3-2 lead as the Evangels held on for the victory over Ottawa.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – MACU – 20:12 – Goal: Lucas Catosso (1) – MACU 1, OTT 0
• 1^st Half – MACU – 24:18 – Goal: Enzo Nogue (3) – MACU 2, OTT 0
• 1^st Half – MACU – 39:27 – Goal: Uviwe Qasha (1) – MACU 3, OTT 0 
• 2^nd Half – OTT – 56:53 – Goal: Cale Scott (3); Assists: Matt Myers, Slobodan Novicevic – MACU 3, OTT 1
• 2^nd Half – OTT – 58:41 – Goals:  Jevan Purcell-Jackson (2); Assists: Matt Myers, Martin Basso – MACU 3, OTT 2

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • In the 21^st minute, junior defender Lucas Catosso finds the back of the net for Mid-America Christian (3-0-2). After the ball got sent through to Tony Ngombi on a quick counter town the left side, the ball was centered into the penalty box for Josh Macklin. The junior midfielder tried to tap a 12-yarder to the right post that was initially saved by OU goalkeeper Nicolo Cinelli, but Catosso was Johnny-on-the-spot as the ball caromed to the team captain, who punched back in an uncontested shot up the middle to make it a 1-0 game.
  • Four minutes later, the other team captain Enzo Nogue got his chance at glory. After a foul was called on Ottawa (1-3-0) from 25-yards out on the right side of the 18-yard box, Nogue lofted an excellently placed free into the middle of the box that just barely glanced off the head of a Braves defender heading toward goal, re-directing it toward the crossbar and into the back of the net, making it a 2-nil advantage in the 25^th minute.
  • In the 39^th minute, Nogue had a golden opportunity get on the brace. After Cinelli misplayed a clearance that deflected off of Uviwe Qasha, Nogue tracked down the loose ball in the middle of the box and attempted to dribble around the right side of the crashing keeper. While Nogue was able to get a decent look at a wide-open net, the typically precise striker accidently sailed his shot over the crossbar.
  • However, just a minute later, MACU ended up getting that would-be game-winning score as Qasha was in the right place at the right time. After a takeaway set Nogue up for an open look in the middle of the box, Cinelli made a solid diving shot toward the lower-left post. However, Qasha was right there to rifle it back inside the left post off the rebound for his first goal of the season, extending the MACU lead to 3-0 heading into the halftime break.
• Second Half
  • It was the Braves opening up the scoring in the second half as Cale Scott found the net off the Braves counter-attack. Ottawa doubled up thanks to the foot of Purcell-Jackson who bent the ball around the outstretched arm of MACU keeper CLudio Fuentealba just two minutes after Ottawa's first goal.
  • Fuentealba made a diving save to preserve the Evangels one-goal lead with 21 minutes left to play in the game.
  • A penalty awarded in the 85th minute set up Ottawa with a golden opportunity to equalize, but Fuentealba guessed correctly. The senior goalie put his body low and to the right post, catching the grounded effort from Braves senior Bence Molnar, ultimately sealing the 3-2 victory for the Evangels.

MATCH NOTES

• In the hard-nosed defensive battle, Mid-America Christian held a 13-8 shot advantage over the Braves while also tallying a 10-6 edge in on-target attempts.
• All of MACU's scoring efforts went unassisted as Lucas Catosso and Uviwe Qasha each netted their first career goals for the Evangels.
• The goal for Enzo Nogue extended his team-leading total to three on the season while also stretching his team-high point total to eight.
• Mid-America Christian improved to 2-0 all-time against Ottawa after the Evangels picked up the inaugural win in Ottawa last season by a 1-0 result on Aug. 26, 2023.
• The Evangels continued to add to their impressive home streak. After narrowly surviving a 1-1 draw to Williams Baptist on Monday, the victory on Saturday afternoon extended MACU's home undefeated streak to 43 games, dating back to the start of the run in a 6-0 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State in the SAC Quarterfinal on Apr. 2, 2021.

COACH AARON HOXIE'S ANALYSIS

• "Hard to sum up what we are all feeling, because it still feels like a loss. When we executed the game plan, we were top.  When we did not, we turned it over and got countered to death.  With that being said, when it's hard and we are up against it, we need someone to make a play. Claudio with the penalty save was exactly what was needed."
• "The score doesn't matter for 89 minutes, whatever it is after 90 is all I care about.  All you need is one more goal than the other team to accomplish the objective.  We have done that successfully today. Perspective is very important here."

UP NEXT

• A team that has already been battle-tested on the road will face one of its toughest road challenges of the season on Friday, Sept. 13 as the Evangels will head to Bartlesville, Oklahoma for an NAIA Top 25 showdown against No. 4 Oklahoma Wesleyan. The highly anticipated contest is slated for a 7 p.m. kickoff at the OKWU Soccer Complex.