OKLAHOMA CITY – After a historic 2024 season where the MACU Women's Soccer team captured its program's first Sooner Athletic Conference Championship and a NAIA National Tournament appearance under fifth-year head coach Anthony Yousey, the Evangels will look to kick things off in the right direction with a road trip to Ottawa (Kan.) for a 6 pm kickoff on Thursday. 

MACU will have a quick turnaround as it will then head to Baldwin City, Kan. to face Baker on Saturday for an 11 am kickoff.  
 
SEASON REPORT 

• 2024 Record: 14-3-2 (8-1 SAC)
• Last Game: Loss vs. Xavier (La.)  – 1-0 – Nov. 21, 2024 – Hattiesburg, Miss. - NAIA Tournament – First Round
• Top Returners:  
  • Brae Baker – JR – F – All-SAC First Team – NCCAA All-America Second Team 
    • 2024 Stats: 19 Games Played, 19 Games Started, 1410 Minutes, 14 Goals, 7 Assists, 35 Points, 91 Shots, 50 SOG, 3 GWG
  • Cammy Hargrove – SR – D - All-SAC First Team – Team Captain 
    • 2024 Stats: 19 Games Played, 19 Games Started, 1663 Minutes, 1 Assist 
  • Stephanie Arrivillaga – SO – F  
    • 2024 Stats: 17 Games Played, 7 Games Started, 7 Goals, 2 Assists, 16 Points, 27 Shots, 16 SOG, 2 GWG 
  • Jasie Eischen – SR – M – Team Captain 
    • 2024 Stats: 20 Games Played, 19 Games Started, 1606 Minutes, 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 27 Shots, 12 SOG, 1 GWG 
    • Scored game winning goal against OPSU in the 87' to clinch the conference regular season championship  
• Top Newcomers:
  • Alba Vigo – SR – GK – Previous School: Columbia (Mo.) 
    • Recorded 16 saves finishing with a 3-1 record  
    • Two-time AMC Player of the Week (Aug. 26, Oct. 14) 
    • Recorded seven saves and a shutout against #24 Missouri Valley on Aug. 24  
  • Liv Houlston – FR – M – Previous School: Spire Academy  
  • Alyssa Gutierrez – FR – M – Previous School: S.H. Rider High School  
    • TASCO All-Region Team 
    • High School Team Captain 
• Team Notes: 
  • Mid-America Christian returns a plethora of talent from last year's team, including two First Team All-SAC players in senior defender Cammy Hargrove and junior forward Brae Baker. 
  • The Evangels are bringing back their top four scorers in Baker, netting 14 goals and seven assists to tally 35 points, helping her garner NCCAA All-America Second Team accolades. Stephanie Arrivillaga notched in seven in her freshman campaign, while both Gladis Avalos and Deborah Silviera added five apiece.  
  • On the defensive side, four-year starter Hargrove returns for one more season to captain and lead the backline, while Alba Vigo has transferred in from NAIA powerhouse Columbia College for her senior season between the posts, bringing valuable experience to the position. 
  • MACU captured some massive results over the course of the season, including a 2-0 win over SAC Tournament Champion No. 19 John Brown at the Dill Soccer Field on Oct. 8, the program's first victory over the Golden Eagles in 14 years. The Evangels also notched a huge 1-1 draw at No. 10 Columbia (Mo.) on Sept. 18 in non-conference action.  
  • The Evangels season came to an end in Hattiesburg, Miss. in the first round of the NAIA National Tournament as they fell in a tightly contested 1-0 battle to Xavier (La.) in their first NAIA postseason appearance.  

SCOUTING REPORT 
Ottawa (Kan.) 

• 2024 Record: 3-9-5 (3-5-5 KCAC) 
• Series vs MACU (2012-): OTT leads 1-0 
• Last Match vs MACU: Ottawa won 2-0 – Sep. 7, 2012 – Ottawa, Kan. 
• Series Streak: Ottawa Won 1  
• Players To Watch: 
  • Liv Staberg – SR - F 
    • 2024 Stats: 16 Games Played, 15 Games Started, 981 Minutes, 2 Goals, 17 Shots, 8 SOG 
  • Riley Smith – SR – D – All-KCAC Second Team 
    • 2024 Stats: 16 Games Played, 16 Games Started, 1440 Minutes, 1 Goal, 18 Shots, 6 SOG 
• Team Notes:
  • Ottawa is looking for a bounce back season under first-year head coach James Cottage, who is taking over the women's team while also serving as the head coach of the men's soccer program. In his three years at the helm of the Braves men's team, Ottawa has  
  • After a rough start to last season, they finished it off with a four-game unbeaten run including a 5-1 victory over McPherson (Kan.) and 3-1 victory over Sterling (Kan.).  
  • Despite losing their top goal scorer from a season ago, the Braves will look to Liv Staberg to carry the goal scoring load this upcoming season. Ottawa does return its all-conference defender in Riley Smith, who received Second Team All-KCAC honors.  
  • Thursday's match will mark the second all-time meeting between the Evangels and the Braves. The last time the two teams competed against each other 13 years ago, Ottawa captured the 2-0 win. 

Baker (Kan.)

• 2024 Record: 5-11-2 (3-6-2 HOA) 
• Series vs. MACU (2012-): Baker leads 3-2  
• Last Match vs MACU: MACU won 3-0 – Sep. 6, 2024 – Dill Soccer Field  
• Series Streak: MACU Won 2  
• Players To Watch: 
  • Darcy Cato – SR – F  
    • 2024 Stats: 18 Games Played, 15 Games Started, 3 Goals, 1 Assist, 7 Points, 37 Shots, 22 SOG 
  • Caitlin Youles – SR – D 
    • 2024 Stats: 16 Games Played, 16 Games Started, 2 Goals, 15 Shots, 4 SOG 
• Team Notes:
  • Baker officially kicks off its season Thursday night at home against Avila (Mo).  
  • The Wildcats were voted to finish seventh out of 14 teams in the Heart of America Conference. However, they will need to replace their leading goal scorer from a year ago, Emma Schieber (6), an all-conference goalkeeper in Avery Young, and an all-conference defender in Macie Albright. It is the sixth meeting between the Evangels and Wildcats dating back to 2012. Even though Baker won the first three meetings, the Evangels have been riding high in the recent series, winning the last two meetings in shutout fashion by scores of 2-0 on Aug. 26, 2023, and 3-0 on Sept. 6, 2024.