Mid-America Christian University

OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 19 MACU Men's Soccer team won another contest in dramatic fashion as Vito Callaci slipped in the game-winner with only 1:52 remaining to propel the Evangels to a thrilling 2-1 victory over No. 8 John Brown at the Dill Soccer Field on Saturday night to stay atop of the Sooner Athletic Conference standings.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 2, John Brown
  • Mid-America Christian (11-1-2, 4-0-1 SAC)
  • John Brown (7-3-1, 3-2-0 SAC)

SCORING SUMMARY

• 2^nd Half – JBU – 59:31 – Goal: Marco Brizuela (3) – JBU 1, MACU 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 81:06 – Goal: Leonardo Leitao (8), Assist: Haruya Higuchi – MACU 1, JBU 1
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 88:08 – Goal: Vito Callaci (3), Assists: Daniel Gallagher, Ellis Dunn – MACU 2, JBU 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Mid-America Christian opened the contest with a dangerous chance within the first 30 seconds when Daniel Gallagher got by his defender and rifled a pass across the six-yard box that just barely missed the head of Haruya Higuchi.
  • Two minutes later, Gallagher missed out on a header opportunity when Elias Hirt whipped a ball from the left side for the Englishman on the right post, but he placed his header just barely over the crossbar for a goal kick.
  • In the 11^th minute, it looked as though the Evangels took the lead when Gallagher found Higuchi open in the middle of the box, punching it in for the go-ahead goal that was unfortunately negated on an offside call.
  • The only shot on-goal for either side in the first half came from John Brown's Jorge Cervantes from range on the left side in the 24^th minute, but it was a relatively easy direct save to MACU goalkeeper Julian Huertas as the Evangel and Golden Eagles took a 0-0 draw into the halftime break.
• Second Half
  • The Golden Eagles had a dangerous chance at finding the go-ahead within the first 30 seconds when some strong dribbling at the edge of the box allowed Gabriel Cabrera a strong open look on the left side that he pushed just over the crossbar.
  • However, JBU found its go-ahead in the 60^th minute off a defensive miscue. On the play, Ransford Okyere slipped a through ball to Alejandro Gallardo breaking into the right side of the box. Even though his initial shot went into the right-side netting, he was issued a penalty kick on Necsar Rojas' sliding tackle.
  • With Marco Brizuela stepping up to take the pen, he got Huertas to dive to his right before slipping the pen into the bottom open bottom right corner to make it a 1-0 JBU advantage.
  • MACU had some golden opportunities at an equalizer immediately following. Just 75 seconds later, it looked like MACU was going to tie it once again when Higuchi got open on the right side before crossing it to Leonardo Leitao for the tap-in, but the Evangels were flagged for offside on the play. Just a minute later, Elias Hirt had an opportunity when Ellis Dunn floated a cross from the right side to his head near the left post, but unfortunately pushed it over the bar.
  • In the 81^st minute, it appeared as though the Evangels would get the chance to tie on Hirt's corner kick when Leitao was taken down inside the box, awarding the Evangels a chance to even it on a pen of their own. However, after entering the night being a perfect 4-for-4 in PK attempts, Leitao's try was a little too direct toward the right side as Juan Almanza made the save before being cleared out for another MACU corner kick.
  • However, Leitao would redeem himself following the ensuing corner. After JBU managed to clear the ball out of the box, the Golden Eagles scuffed the second touch, allowing Filliph Kamfjord to gain possession and dribble into the left side of the box. His cross initially found the foot of a Golden Eagles defender, but Higuchi was there to deflect the ball to Leitao in the middle of the box. The junior midfielder slipped his deflected shot through a few JBU defenders and into the right side to draw the match even at 1-1 with just under nine minutes to go.
  • With just under two minutes ago, Mid-America Christian found its winner following a sensational defensive sequence. With JBU trying to send the ball down the field, Ben Rojas sent forward two strong headers and with the Golden Eagles trying to send a third his way, he perfectly headed a ball down to Ellis Dunn, who sent a stellar deep ball down the right side for Gallagher on the run. Getting by his defender, he centered a pass for Vito Callaci inside the box, cutting back to his left to shake off his defender before slipping his winner into the left side of the net to make it a 2-1 game with only 1:52 remaining in the contest.
  • John Brown was unable to get an attempt at a potential equalizer off over the final 112 seconds as MACU came away with the 2-1 victory.

GAME NOTES

• In the hard-nosed defensive battle, Mid-America Christian held a slim 11-10 advantage in shots with a 4-3 advantage in shots on-goal.
• The goal netted by Leonardo Leitao was his team-leading eighth of the season, including his seventh against SAC competition to lead the conference.
• Vito Callaci continued to have a flair for the dramatic as he moved into a three-way tie for the team-lead with his second game-winning goal of the season and his third overall goal of the 2026 campaign. The junior striker picked up his first winner in MACU's 1-0 victory in the 88^th minute against Bellevue on Sept. 5.
• The Evangels notched three assists in the win as Higuchi got the assist on Leitao's tying goal for his second of the season. On the game-winner, Daniel Gallagher continued to be an assist machine for MACU in SAC play, tallying his league-leading fourth assist in SAC play while Ellis Dunn earned the second assist, making it the first for the freshman midfielder
• Freshman goalkeeper Julian Huertas continued to rack up the wins in-goal for MACU as he ended the match with just the PK goal conceded to go along with pair of saves, improving to 10-1-2 in-goal.
• The Evangels avenged a pair of tough losses to John Brown last season, including a heartbreaking 2-1 affair in the SAC Semifinal on Nov. 7, 2025. However, MACU has had the recent success against the Golden Eagles, winning 10 of the last 12 meetings.
• With the victory, MACU gained some separation at the top of the SAC table as the Evangels now sit with 13 points behind their 4-0-1 league record with Wayland Baptist moving into second following its 2-1 win at Southwestern Christian with 10 points at 3-1-1.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will now brace itself for another big rivalry match on Saturday, Oct. 17 as the Evangels host last year's SAC Tournament Champion Oklahoma City for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at the Dill Soccer Field.