OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Men's Soccer team committed some costly errors early in the second half that it could not overcome as the Evangels saw their season come to a tough end in a 3-2 loss to Nelson in the NCCAA Central Region Championship match at the Dill Soccer Field on Friday afternoon.
 
SCORE

• Nelson 3, Mid-America Christian 2
  • Mid-America Christian (9-9-4)
  • Nelson (9-7-4)

SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – NELSON – 36:17 – Goal: Garey Mills (1), Assist: Isaiah Moreno – NELSON 1, MACU 0
• 1^st Half – MACU – 40:20 – Goal: Ryan Jeanfreau (11) – MACU 1, NELSON 1
• 2^nd Half – NELSON – 46:12 – Goal: Garey Mills (2), Assists: Yael Sandoval, Amir Raime – NELSON 2, MACU 1
• 2^nd Half – NELSON – 52:41 – Goal: Yael Sandoval (2) – NELSON 3, MACU 1
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 67:12 – Goal: Own Goal (1) – NELSON 3, MACU 2

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Shots were few and far between through the first 30 minutes as Mid-America Christian's only shot on-goal was a deep free kick by Jimmy Cabrera toward the top left that was easily saved by Nelson goalkeeper Amir Raime in the fourth minute.
  • Nelson had the most dangerous chance to go ahead early in the sixth minute when Makel Mitchell got by his defender on the right side on the through ball, but Alvaro Morera made a sensational save from the right post diving toward his left before Garey Mills open follow-up sailed wide right on the rebound.
  • In the 37^th minute, Mills made up for his earlier miscue as a takeaway allowed Isaiah Moreno to slip a through-ball up the middle to the striker. With a one-on-one with the keeper, Mills managed to slip ball past Morera on a slow roller as the slow roller just barely got over the line before a retreating Matias Garcia could save it, making it a 1-0 Nelson lead.
  • Despite not having many opportunities throughout the half, the Evangels had a fortunate turn of events in the 41^st minute. After a through ball ended up to the mitts of Raime, the freshman keeper made a massive mistake when he throw out slipped out of his hands and took out Federico Palacios in the box trying to clear the loose ball.
  • Set up with a penalty kick, Ryan Jeanfreau powered a shot into the lower left corner just barely out of the reach of Raime to make it an even game at 1-1 going into half.
• Second Half
  • Less than two minutes into the second half, Nelson found the go-ahead goal once again. On the play, Raime sent a deep ball into MACU's half that was headed by Yael Sandoval toward Mills on the break. Caught in no man's land in trying to stop it at the point of attack and letting his defender cover, Morera got caught out of position as Mills dribbled around the senior keeper and tapped it into the wide-open net to set the score to 2-1.
  • In the 53^rd minute, Nelson took advantage of a massive mistake by the Evangels defense. With the usually reliable Diego Sano possessing the ball at the edge of the 18-yard box, the junior midfielder slipped trying to pass the ball, allowing Sandoval to claim the ball and fire a shot past Morera before the keeper could react in time, making it a 3-1 contest.
  • The Evangels managed to trim their deficit in-half in the 67^th minute. Following a Jimmy Cabrera right side corner, Haruya Higuchi got his head on the ball to direct it toward Lucas Catosso on the left side of the box. After chesting the ball down, Sandoval accidentally directed the ball into his own net for the own goal to make it a 3-2 contest.
  • It looked as though MACU might have found the equalizer in the 77^th minute when Garcia found Josh Macklin open on a cross toward the left post. The senior midfielder slipped his shot from the left post to the keeper's right and into the back of the net, but Macklin was flagged for being offside on the play to negate the goal.
  • MACU's last great chance for an equalizer came just a minute later when Elias Hirt found Jeanfreau breaking in toward the right post, but Raime made a sensational save on the shot directed toward his left, allowing the Lions to eventually claim the Central Region title.

GAME NOTES

• Both teams were relatively even in the shot department as Nelson attempted one more shot overall at 11-10, but the Evangels placed more of their shots on-goal at 6-5.
• Ryan Jeanfreau paced the MACU attack with a team-high five shots, placing two shots on-goal while his penalty kick score marked his 11^th goal of the season. His 11 goals was the most scored by an Evangel since Jack Price netted 12 goals during the 2023 campaign.
• With the win, Nelson snapped MACU's 10-match win streak over the Lions with Nelson's last victory coming in a 1-0 contest at the Dill Soccer Field on Oct. 16, 2018.
• With the defeat, Mid-America Christian's season comes to an end, wrapping up the year with a 9-9-4 overall record and finished third in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings with a 5-2-2 league mark.