OKLAHOMA CITY – Senior forward Ryan Jeanfreau wreaked havoc on the Nelson defense, scoring the game-winning goal and tallying assists on the MACU Men's Soccer team's two other goals as the Evangels ran away with a 3-0 victory at the Dill Soccer Field on Tuesday night.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, Nelson 0
  • Mid-America Christian (4-5-4, 2-0-2 SAC)
  • Nelson (5-4-3, 0-2-2 SAC)

SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – MACU – 21:52 – Goal: Ryan Jeanfreau (7), Assist: Diego Sano – MACU 1, NELSON 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 67:14 – Goal: Haruya Higuchi (4), Assist: Ryan Jeanfreau – MACU 2, NELSON 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 78:03 – Goal: Jimmy Cabrera (2), Assist: Ryan Jeanfreau – MACU 3, NELSON 0

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Mid-America Christian peppered Nelson goalkeeper Amir Raime through the first 15 minutes as Haruya Higuchi, Josh Macklin, and Ryan Jeanfreau all got shots on-goal in the fifth, sixth, and 15^th minutes, but Raime managed to stop all three to keep it a scoreless game.
  • The most dangerous of the three chances was Jeanfreau's stellar strike from the left side, but Raime manged to bat the shot up and pounce on it before trickling back into the Nelson net.
  • In the 22^nd minute, the Evangels finally found the back of the net. After Diego Sano chested down a failed clearance, he dribbled cleanly through the midfield before finding Jeanfreau wide open on the right side of the box, hammering a cross-field shot into the top left to make it a 1-0 MACU advantage.
  • Nelson's most dangerous chance in the first half came in the first half when Omolemo Matla headed down a deep cross toward Landon Exley in the middle of the box, but his powerful one-timer just barely sailed over the crossbar in the 39^th minute.
  • The Evangels defense completely clamped down on the Nelson attack, holding the Lions to only two shots with one scuffed shot on-goal in the 13 minute that resulted in an easy save for Dante Caffaro.
• Second Half
  • Nelson had the first on-goal chance of the second half in the 62^nd minute when a deep left side to right cross for Joel Palmer was partially blocked before Dante Caffaro leapt forward to stop the continuing shot.
  • In the 68^th minute, Mid-America Christian finally broke through with its second goal as Jeanfreau smoked a shot toward goal that was initially saved by Raime, but Higuchi was in the right place at the right time to punch in the score to the bottom right corner to make it a 2-0 lead.
  • After Higuchi had his initial shot blocked, Mid-America Christian found its third goal when Jeanfreau tapped a pass back to Jimmy Cabrera on the left side, rifling a shot just inside the left post to set the score to 3-0.
  • Nelson had one last chance to spoil MACU's clean sheet in the final seconds off a corner kick, but Pascoal Manuel's initial shot was stopped before Caffaro saved the rebounded try from Edwin Mbaka in the box to preserve the shutout.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian dominated the offensive possession, outshooting Nelson by a 14-7 margin with a 7-4 edge in shots on-goal.
• For the third-straight game, Ryan Jeanfreau found the back of the net while notching a career-high four points on a goal and a pair of assists. Jeanfreau boosted his season assist total to three on the year, all of which coming in the last two matches. The Mandeville, La. native led MACU in the attack with four shots, three of which were on-goal.
• The assist on Jeanfreau's game-winner was assisted by Diego Sano, his second dime of the season.
• After posting a five-point game against the Drovers on Saturday night, Haruya Higuchi once again found himself on the stat sheet with his fourth goal in the last four matches. Jimmy Cabrera also scored a goal for the second-straight game with his 79^th score.
• Dante Caffaro pitched his second shutout of the season, finishing with four saves while improving to 3-0-2 in-goal this season.
• With the result, MACU has won 10-straight games against Nelson, marking its ninth shutout in that time frame since 2019.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will head across town for its next road match as the Evangels now prepare to head to Bethany, Okla. on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff against Southwestern Christian at Cagle Field.