OLATHE, Kan. – No. 17 MACU Men's Soccer is defeated for the first time this season on the road at No. 8 MidAmerica Nazarene 2-0 on Saturday afternoon in a physical ranked match.

SCORE

• No. 17 Mid-America Christian 0, No. 8 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 2
  • Mid-America Christian: (1-1-2)
  • MidAmerica Nazarene: (3-0-1)

SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – MNU – 34:54 – Goal: Vladimir Buljan (2) – Assist: Gabriel Fernandes – MACU 0, MNU 1
• 2^nd Half – MNU – 59:40 – Goal: Elyes Ellouz (1) – Assist: Antonio Mugica – MACU 0, MNU 2

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Both teams opened the first 20 minutes with good spells of possession looking for any openings in the early stages. Federico Palacios got the first shot on goal forcing the save out of the Pioneer goalkeeper, Tobias Stirl.
  • Alvaro Morera was called upon in the 24^th minute making his first save of the game. The Pioneers stayed on the front foot and found the back of the net in the 35^th minute as Vladimir Buljan finished off a great assist by Gabriel Fernandes.  
  • MidAmerica Nazarene stayed on the attack after the opening goal as Buljan almost doubled the lead right before halftime as his shot whistled past the left post.
• Second Half
  • A pair of shots on frame for each team opened an electric first five minutes of the second half as both goalkeepers stood their ground.  
  • The second goal came in the 60^th minute as the Evangels backline got caught on the ball and were penalized for the turnover as Elyes Ellouz was picked out by Antonio Mugica to double the Pioneers lead.
  • Morera continued to be called upon in goal for the Evangels as they faced heavy traffic in their penalty box most of the second half.  
  • MACU had a chance in the 85^th minute to get one back with Josh Macklin as his shot was blocked inside the six-yard box winning the Evangels a corner kick in the latter stages.

MATCH NOTES

• MNU held the shot advantage 17-8 over MACU with a 7-4 shots on goal margin.
• It was a physical match with 31 combined fouls, three yellow cards issued for MACU, and four for MNU.
• This is the fourth meeting between the Evangels and Pioneers as MNU remains undefeated against MACU, bringing the Evangels' all-time series record against the Pioneers to 0-3-1.

 
UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will stay on the road as they head to Miami Gardens, Fla. to face St. Thomas next Thursday, Sep. 4^th for a 6 pm CST kickoff.