OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Men's Soccer team found its offensive stride in its first Sooner Athletic Conference home game, netting three goals in the first 25 minutes before eventually running away with a 5-1 victory over Science & Arts at the Dill Soccer Field on Saturday night.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 5, Science & Arts 1
  • Mid-America Christian (3-5-4, 1-0-2 SAC)
  • Science & Arts (5-3-3, 1-2 SAC)

SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – MACU – 9:40 – Goal: Haruya Higuchi (2), Assists: Jimmy Cabrera, Matias Garcia – MACU 1, USAO 0
• 1^st Half – MACU – 16:32 – Goal: Ryan Jeanfreau (6), Assist: Haruya Higuchi – MACU 2, USAO 0
• 1^st Half – MACU – 24:43 – Goal: Jimmy Cabrera (1) – MACU 3, USAO 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 53:54 – Goal: Lucas Catosso (1), Assist: Diego Sano – MACU 4, USAO 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 63:31 – Goal: Haruya Higuchi (3), Assists: Ryan Jeanfreau, Joao Victor – MACU 5, USAO 0
• 2^nd Half – USAO – 64:36 – Goal: Matija Malenovic (10) – MACU 5, USAO 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Mid-America Christian set the tone offensively in the early going as the Evangels hammered three-straight shots on-goal in the fourth minute from Ryan Jeanfreau, Matias Garcia, and Haruya Higuchi, but USAO goalkeeper Angel Diaz tallied strong saves on each to keep MACU off the board.
  • It didn't take long for the Evangels to find the go-ahead goal in the 10^th minute. After the Evangels won a tackle in the midfield, a dribble-up pass by Matias Garcia found Jimmy Cabrera on the right side, who lofted an excellent deep ball to Haruya Higuchi breaking toward the right side of the box. Higuchi powered an incredible strike into the top right corner to make it a 1-0 Evangels advantage.
  • Just seven minutes later, MACU added it when Higuchi tracked down a loose ball in the midfield and lofted a perfect pass to Jeanfreau breaking away from his defender up the middle. Catching the goalkeeper off his line, Jeanfreau floated an easy open shot into the back of the net to set the score to 2-0.
  • With just over 20 minutes left in the first half, Jimmy Cabrera took advantage of a heavy touch by the Drovers, picking the pocket of Noah Jansing in the midfield before dribbling up toward the top of the box and skipping a low liner just inside the left post to make it a 3-0 MACU edge.
  • The only shot that freshman Dante Caffaro saw in the entire first half came of the foot of Juan Pablo Penagos off a soft deflection, but he made an easy snare, allowing the Evangels to go into the half with the 3-0 advantage.
• Second Half
  • Just eight minutes into the second half, Mid-America Christian added its fourth off a corner kick. After Jeanfreau's left side corner was briefly headed out by USAO, Diego Sano flicked a header up toward Lucas Catosso toward the right post, slipping a quick touch just past Diaz to bring it to 4-0.
  • The Evangels came dangerously close to adding their fifth in the 61^st minute when Carlos Lobo lofted a perfect deep cross from the left side to the right post, but Diaz managed to knock down Jeanfreau's initial point-blank header before he once again tried to flick it over the keeper off the rebound, but it went over the crossbar.
  • With just over 26 minutes remaining, Higuchi got on the brace when Joao Victor flicked it ahead to Ryan Jeanfreau, who found Higuchi on the right side, who once again powered a shot into the top right to wrap-up MACU's scoring at 5-0.
  • The only goal the Drovers mustered against the Evangels' defense came on a penalty when a foul inside the box set up Matija Malenovic powered in the pen into the right side to set the score to 5-1.
  • The Drovers only managed to put two more shots on-goal the rest of the way, but Caffaro made saves in the 68^th and 75^th minutes to ultimately seal the 5-1 victory.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian controlled the offensive possession, outshooting the Drovers 14-10 with a highly efficient 9-5 advantage in shots on-goal.
• Despite coming into the contest with just 10 goals through 11 matches, the Evangels offense exploded for five goals in the 5-1 win. The result tied the program's most lopsided win over Science & Arts. The last time the Evangels won by four against USAO came in a 5-1 at USAO on Mar. 13, 2021 during the COVID-19 impacted season and a 4-0 win over the Drovers on Sept. 27, 2019 at the Dill Soccer Field.
• It was a massive night for junior forward Haruya Higuchi, who notched a five-point night with two goals and an assist off of three shots, all of which were on-goal.
• Ryan Jeanfreau continued to be an offensive sparkplug for the Evangels, finishing with a three-point night with a goal and an assist, netting his second game-winner of the season while posting a team-high four shots with three being on-goal.
• Dante Caffaro improved to 2-0-2 in-goal for the Evangels, only allowing one penalty kick goal and notched four saves for a solid .800 save percentage.
• The result allowed the Evangels to improve to 7-0-2 against the Drovers since 2021.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be back at home on Tuesday night as the Evangels now prepare for Nelson. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 pm at the Dill Soccer Field.