Mid-America Christian University

WAXAHACHIE, Texas – The No. 6 MACU Men's Soccer team downright dominated on both ends of the field, scoring three goals in the second half to come away with a 4-0 road win at Nelson at the Lions Athletic Complex on Tuesday night.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 4, Nelson 0
  • Mid-America Christian (13-1-2, 6-0-1 SAC)
  • Nelson (4-8-2, 1-5-1 SAC)

SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – MACU – 20:30 – Goal: Leonardo Leitao (9) – MACU 1, NU 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 68:46 – Goal: Haruya Higuchi (3), Assist: Matias Garcia – MACU 2, NU 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 79:36 – Goal: Vito Callaci (4), Assist: Klaus Gartner – MACU 3, NU 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 87:21 – Goal: Klaus Gartner (4) – MACU 4, NU 0

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Mid-America Christian had a great chance at a go-ahead goal in the third minute when Elias Hirt instead of putting his left-side corner into the mixer elected to outlet it to Matias Garcia at the edge of the 18-yard box. He took a strong strike with his left, but Nelson goalkeeper Yahir Perez made a strong diving save to keep the Evangels off the board.
  • The Evangels had another solid chance to score the opener in the 10^th minute when Ellis Dunn's deep cross from the midfield found Haruya Higuchi open on the run into the left side of the box. However, Higuchi was unable to put a whole lot of power behind his off-balance shot fading to his left, allowing Perez to make a relatively comfortable save on the dangerous situation.
  • In the 21^st minute, MACU found its winner behind an incredible individual effort from junior midfielder Leonardo Leitao. After receiving a pass open on the left side of the midfield, Leitao skillfully dribbled around five defenders into the top of the box before slipping a low liner inside the left post, setting the score to 1-0.
  • Neither side was able to muster an on-target attempt for the remainder of the half as the Evangels took the 1-0 advantage into the halftime break.
• Second Half
  • After scoring on just one of its first seven chances in the first half, Mid-America Christian with only five scoring opportunities in the second half made the most with it.
  • Nelson had the most dangerous chances first in the second stanza when its top striker Joel Palmer put two strong strikes toward goal in the 60^th and 62^nd minutes, the latter coming on a defensive misplay that allowed the striker his best look, but both shots hooked wide right.
  • In the 69^th minute, the Evangels netted their first goal of the second 45. With Garcia putting together strong runs all evening, he finally came through when Leitao perfectly lofted a ball down the left side for his run into the left side of the 18-yard box. Garcia found Haruya Higuchi completely unmarked near the right post as he crossed it for the easy tap-in goal to make it 2-nil.
  • Midway through the 80^th minute, MACU all but put the game out of reach with their third score of the contest. With the Evangels working the ball down the left side, Hirt lofted a pass down to the left corner for Klaus Gartner. Chipping a cross back into the box, Vito Callaci was there to punch an open header into the middle of the net to extend the advantage to 3-0.
  • The Evangels wrapped up the scoring with two-and-a-half minutes to go. With Nelson committing all of its players up for a corner kick, when MACU cleared it out, Callaci was able to send it up ahead to Gartner on the run with only one defender trying to contend with the speedy forward. Gartner out-paced the defender on the dribble, going middle first before dribbling left around the keeper, slipping the final shot into the open net to wrap-up the 4-0 final.

MATCH NOTES

• While Mid-America Christian only held a 12-10 edge in total shots, the Evangels were far more efficient in their attack and took advantage of Nelson's defensive lapses, placing seven shots on-goal to only one for the Lions.
• Leonardo Leitao became the first player on the team to reach three game-winners on the team. His score was his team-leading ninth of the season while maintaining his lead in goals scored in SAC play with eight coming against league competition.
• Klaus Gartner recorded his second three-point contest with the Evangels with a goal and an assist, making it his fourth goal of the season with his first assist.
• Vito Callaci also tallied his fourth of the 2026 campaign while Haruya Higuchi tallied his third of the year.
• Matias Garcia tallied one of MACU's two assists, making it his third of the season.
• Julian Huertas improved to 12-1-2 in-goal during his freshman campaign, but behind MACU's elite defense did not need to make a save. With the win, Huertas made his way into the team's record book as his 12 victories in-net moved him into a tie for fifth with his coach Claudio Fuentealba (2024) and Jakob O'Meara-Gill (2017).
• With the victory, MACU has reached 19 points (6-0-1) in Sooner Athletic Conference play, putting the Evangels on the cusp of locking up the league title with only Texas Wesleyan (13, 4-2-1) and No. 14 John Brown (12, 4-2-0) within striking distance.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian can lock up the SAC regular season title on Saturday as it heads to Fort Worth to take on Texas Wesleyan. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. at Karen Cramer Stadium.