BETHANY, Okla. – The MACU Men's Soccer team won a downright thriller at Cagle Field on Saturday afternoon as Necsar Rojas tapped in the game-winner with 2:49 remaining to seal the 2-1 victory at Southwestern Christian.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 2, Southwestern Christian 1
  • Mid-America Christian (5-5-4, 3-0-2 SAC)
  • Southwestern Christian (7-3-2, 2-2-1 SAC)

SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – MACU – 24:35 – Goal: Ryan Jeanfreau (8), Assist: Haruya Higuchi – MACU 1, SCU 0
• 2^nd Half – SCU – 52:05 – Goal: Gabin Desplats (6), Assist: Vinicuius Cruz – MACU 1, SCU 1
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 87:11 – Goal: Necsar Rojas (1), Assist: Elias Hirt – MACU 2, SCU 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • It was an offensive struggle for both side through the first 24 minutes before Mid-America Christian capitalized in the 25^th minute. After the ball went out of bounds for a MACU throw-in deep within the Eagles defensive third, Haruya Higuchi launched in a perfect deep throw-in into the center of the box, finding the head of Ryan Jeanfreau who redirected inside the right post to make it a 1-0 game.
  • The Evangels defense straight-up stifled the Eagles offensively in the first half as SCU was unable to even get a shot off against MACU's defense with MACU taking a 1-0 advantage into the halftime break.
• Second Half
  • Southwestern Christian made some adjustments at the half to get more of an attack going early in the second half as Dante Caffaro recorded his first save on Pedro Belmont's shot in the 52^nd minute. However, SCU won a scrum in the box a minute later Gabin Desplats powered a shot through multiple MACU defenders after a few deflections into the right side to even it at 1-1.
  • While Mid-America Christian struggled to get the attack going through most of the second half, the Evangels appeared to be starting to wear down the Eagles over the final 15 minutes. Jeanfreau got two decent looks at a possible go-ahead in the 76^th and 78^th minutes, but SCU goalkeeper Enzo Camps made a pair of solid saves to keep it even.
  • Higuchi also narrowly missed on a pair of shots in the final six minutes. In the 85^th minute off a right side cross, Higuchi made a sliding shot in the middle that was directed toward the right post that pinged off it. Just a minute later, he had another shot that connected with pipe as another right side cross found Higuchi's foot, but it banged off the crossbar to keep it tied with 4:03 left.
  • With just over three minutes remaining, Mid-America Christian took advantage on a foul on SCU's side of the pitch, setting up the Evangels with a free kick. On the set piece, Josh Macklin perfectly lofted a deep ball into the box that got by the defense to the foot of Necsar Rojas, who slipped the winning shot inside the right post to seal the 2-1 victory.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian controlled the possession, out-shooting Southwestern Christian 12-6, but the Evangels did only hold a 6-5 margin in shots on-goal.
• Ryan Jeanfreau led MACU's offensive efforts by netting his eighth goal of the season and his second goal of the week, finishing the match with three total shots with all landing on-frame.
• The goal for Necsar Rojas marked his first as an Evangel.
• The assists in the match went to Haruya Higuchi, taking over the team-lead with his fourth of the season as well as Josh Macklin, his first of the year.
• Dante Caffaro continued to remain unblemished in-goal, allowing only one goal and tallied three saves for a .750 save percentage while improving to 4-0-2 between the sticks.
• The Evangels remained unbeaten against Southwestern Christian in the last seven matches while somewhat avenging a 0-0 home draw to the Eagles last season. It was MACU's third-straight win at Cagle Field since 2021.
• The victory also allowed MACU to stay in lock step with John Brown and Oklahoma City at the top of the SAC table as JBU holds a slight edge with 12 points (4-1) while the Evangels and Stars are a point behind at 11 each (3-0-2).

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will enter its bye week on a high note as the Evangels prepare to make the trip to McPherson, Kan. on Oct. 18 for a 3:30 p.m. contest against Central Christian.