OKLAHOMA CITY – Second half fireworks from Mid-America Christian ignite the Evangels into a 3-1 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Monday evening at the Dill Soccer Field.

SCORE

• (RV) Mid-America Christian 3, Oklahoma Panhandle State 1
  • Mid-America Christian (9-3-2, 4-1-2 SAC)
  • Oklahoma Panhandle State (5-6-1, 2-4-1 SAC)

SCORING SUMMARY

• 2^nd Half – MACU – 45:36 – Goal: Brae Baker (9) – Assist: Anjelic Gonzalez – MACU 1, OPSU 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 56:56 – Goal: Liv Houlston (5) – MACU 2, OPSU 0   
• 2^nd Half – OPSU – 80:18 – Goal: Toriana Holt (3) – MACU 2, OPSU 1
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 84:35 – Goal: Deborah Silveira (1) – Assist: Brae Baker – MACU 3, OPSU 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • The Evangels fired their first shot on goal through Maria Scopino shooting from distance in the 12^th minute as Oklahoma Panhandle State's goalkeeper, AlaraLynn Gunderson, made her first save of the match. Five minutes later, both Liv Houlston and Cammy Hargrove tried their luck from range but once again, Gunderson was equal to it.
  • MACU looked dangerous with Caitlin Hirst who made bombing runs down the right side putting a dangerous ball across the goal line in the 26^th minute almost finding the run of Gladis Avalos for the opening goal.
  • Mid-America Christian continued its attacking efforts shooting from outside the box with Anjelic Gonzalez having the best effort as her shot in the 43^rd minute was seeking the bottom left corner before Gunderson scrambled across her goal line to make a brilliant save diving to her right. Gunderson finished the first half with eight saves.
• Second Half
  • MACU had a dream start to the second half as Brae Baker curled in her long-range effort into the far right post just 36 seconds into the period. The Aggies responded well as their leading goal scorer, Emma Daskalov, forced Ariana Solorio's first save of the match three minutes later.
  • The Evangels doubled their lead in the 57^th minute as a strong play from Caitlin Hirst inside the penalty box drew a foul, and up stepped freshman Liv Houlston for her fifth goal of the season, converting from the spot kick.
  • OPSU made the final 10 minutes interesting as Toriana Holt fired a shot into the top right corner, cutting into the MACU lead in the latter stages of the second half.
  • Deborah Silveira closed out the match in the 85^th minute by scoring her breakaway chance as the Aggies were pushing numbers forward looking for the equalizer. Baker found her on a ball over top of the defense, to see out the remainder of the match and avoid the late comeback from OPSU.

MATCH NOTES

• MACU held a large shot advantage at 22-10 over OPSU, and a 14-5 shots on goal margin.
• Ariana Solorio played three full halves before needing to make a save. However, she was called upon for four saves in the second half while crediting the win taking her season record to 5-2-2. AlaraLynn Gunderson finished with 11 saves after having eight in the first half, recording a new season high.
• Brae Baker scored her ninth goal of the season, while Deborah Silveira scored her first goal clinching all three points for the Evangels in the 85^th minute.
• Mid-America Christian improve to 4-1-2 on the season on 14 points to take them to second place temporarily in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings. However, with one more game played than the rest of the conference.  
• MACU continued its dominance over OPSU winning eight consecutive, taking the all-time record against the Aggies to 8-0.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian hits the road headed to Siloam Springs, Ark. to face No. 10 John Brown on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 25, for a 5 pm kickoff.