OKLAHOMA CITY – After grinding out a pair of road draws at Oklahoma City and Wayland Baptist to start out Sooner Athletic Conference play, the MACU Men's Soccer team will face one of its biggest rivals in its first league home match as the Evangels prepare to host Science & Arts for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at the Dill Soccer Field on Saturday.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 2-5-4 (0-0-1 SAC)
• Last Match: Tied at Wayland Baptist – 1-1 – Sept. 30, 2025 – Plainview, Texas
• Stat Leaders:
  • Goals: Ryan Jeanfreau (5), Federico Palacios (2), Hayden Hoxie (2)
  • Assists: Federico Palacios (3), Haruya Higuchi (2), Carlos Lobo (2)
  • Points: Ryan Jeanfreau (10), Federico Palacios (7)
  • Shots: Federico Palacios (22), Ryan Jeanfreau (21)
  • Shots On-Goal: Ryan Jeanfreau (14), Federico Palacios (8)
  • Game-Winning Goals: Ryan Jeanfreau (1), Hayden Hoxie (1)
  • Minutes: Necsar Rojas (960), Lucas Catosso (844)
  • Leading Goalkeeper: Dante Caffaro
    • 1-0-2 W-L, 1.11 GAA, 11 Saves, .733 SV%, 1 SHO, 15 SF
• Team Notes:
  • Despite being without one of its leading defenders in Hayden Hoxie due to injury, Mid-America Christian managed to hold one of the SAC's leading offensive teams in Wayland Baptist to only one goal on its second-lowest shots (10) and shots on-goal (6) total of the season. However, the Evangels also struggled to find a finishing product on the offensive end as Ryan Jeanfreau's penalty kick goal in the 12^th minute was MACU's only score in the 1-1 draw.
  • Despite the inability to find a second score, the Evangels put together one of their best offensive matches of the season as the 16 shots were the second-most MACU had attempted in a match this season while the eight shots on-goal went down as a season-high as well.
  • The result marked MACU's fourth draw of the season, tying the most in a season for the Evangels while matching the four ties that MACU had recorded in each of the last two seasons after going 17-0-4 in 2023 and 14-3-4 in 2024.
  • Mid-America Christian will be looking forward to being back on its home pitch this weekend as both of MACU's wins this season came at home. The Evangels are 2-2 at the Dill Soccer Field with victories over McPherson (Aug. 23) and Columbia (Sept. 15) with the lone losses coming to No. 4 Oklahoma Wesleyan (Sept. 11) and NCAA D-II Oklahoma Christian (Sept. 20).

SCOUTING REPORT
Science & Arts

• Record: 5-2-3 (1-1-0 SAC)
• Last Match: Won vs. Texas Wesleyan – 2-1 – Sept. 30, 2025 – Chickasha, Okla.
• Series vs MACU (2008-): USAO leads 11-8-5
• Last Match vs MACU: Tied 2-2 – Oct. 1, 2024 – Chickasha, Okla.
• Series Streak: Tied 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Matija Malenovic – SR – M
    • 9 Goals, 18 Points, 40 Shots, 19 SOG, 1 GWG, 10 GP, 10 GS
  • Thato Lekgetho – FR – F
    • 4 Goals, 2 Assists, 10 Points, 33 Shots, 14 SOG, 10 GP, 10 GS
  • Thiago Fasano – SR – M
    • 3 Goals, 2 Assists, 8 Points, 11 Shots, 7 SOG, 9 GP, 8 GS
  • Angel Diaz – SR – GK
    • 5-2-3 W-L, 1.40 GAA, 29 Saves, .674 SV%, 2 SHO, 43 SF, 10 GP, 10 GS, 900 MIN
• Team Notes:
  • After opening the conference slate with a 1-0 home loss to John Brown last Saturday, Science & Arts managed to bounce back at McLaughlin Field on Tuesday. Despite trailing Texas Wesleyan 1-0 through the first 11 minutes, the Drovers battled back by scoring the tying goal in the 42^nd minute before Matija Malenovic scored the game-winner with 1:29 remaining in the first half to secure USAO's first SAC win by a score of 2-1.
  • The Drovers have been one of the higher scoring teams in the league this season, notching the third-most points (67) on the fourth-best goals per game average (2.50). However, USAO has been also prone to giving up goals; ranking fifth in the SAC in goals allowed average (1.40) and have pitched only two shutouts on the season.
  • Much like on Tuesday, the Evangels will need to contend with the league's top goal scorer as Matja Malenovic leads the SAC with nine goals and ranks second in total points with 18.
  • On the defensive front, senior goalkeeper Angel Diaz has logged every minute in-net for the Drovers, as he is posting a 1.40 goals allowed average and owns a .674 save percentage.
  • Even though Science & Arts leads the all-time series, Mid-America Christian has been the most successful side in the series since 2021, owning a 5-0-3 record in that time frame. In last season's meeting in Chickasha on Oct. 1, 2024, the Evangels battled back from a two-goal halftime deficit as Federico Palacios and Enzo Nogue netted a pair of second half scores to force a 2-2 draw. The last time the two squared off at the Dill Soccer Field came in the SAC Championship game on Nov. 9, 2023 as Yasha Schaerer, Jack Price, and Kolby Godbolt each found the back of the net to lead MACU to a 3-1 victory, capturing the program's fourth-straight SAC Tournament title.