Mid-America Christian University

FORT WORTH, Texas – For the fifth time in six years, the No. 6 MACU Men's Soccer team has staked its claim as the Sooner Athletic Conference Champion as the Evangels defeated Texas Wesleyan 3-2 in its last road match of the regular season on Saturday.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, Texas Wesleyan 2
  • Mid-America Christian (14-1-2, 7-0-1 SAC)
  • Texas Wesleyan (6-6-5, 4-3-1 SAC)

SCORING SUMMARY

• 2^nd Half – MACU – 56:10 – Goal: Pedro Lyra (2), Assist: Vito Callaci - MACU 1, TXWES 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 63:46 – Goal: Pedro Lyra (3) – MACU 2, TXWES 0
• 2^nd Half – TXWES – 76:52 – Goal: Diogo Stefane (6) – MACU 2, TXWES 1
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 84:46 – Goal: Leonardo Leitao (10), Assists: Guilherme Barbosa, Elias Hirt – MACU 3, TXWES 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Mid-America Christian controlled most of the possession through the first 30 minutes of the first half, but didn't get its best scoring chance until the 30^th minute. After Texas Wesleyan committed a foul from 25 yards out of the box. Freshman midfield Ellis Dunn was set up with a strong set piece opportunity. However, TXWES goalkeeper Noah Epler-McDonnell made a strong diving save on Dunn's cross-field shot toward the right post.
  • The Evangels had another great chance in the 35^th minute when Haruya Higuchi fed a stellar through ball to Leonardo Leitao on the run to set up a one-on-one with the keeper after the Rams gave it away, however, he was flagged for being offside on the play.
  • Neither team was able to string together an offensive attack that resulted in a shot on-goal for the rest of the half as the Evangels and Rams went into the break scoreless.
• Second Half
  • MACU got a pair of strong looks early in the second half when Daniel Gallagher broke down the right side in the 52^nd minute and tried a diagonal strike toward goal that the Rams keeper easily saved it.
  • In the 57^th minute, the Evangels found their go-ahead goal. After MACU played a throw-in down the left side that Pedro Lyra flicked in toward Vito Callaci at the edge of the box, he perfectly relayed the give-and-go back to Lyra on the attack, as he powered in a shot inside the left post to make it a 1-0 lead.
  • Moments later, Callaci had a chance get on the board himself when Leitao fed him a stellar through ball on the run down the left side, but Epler-McDonnell made a strong diving save and managed to hold onto the slight carom to prevent Daniel Gallagher from punching it in in the 60^th minute.
  • In the 64^th minute, Lyra added one more to his tally when the Rams were called for a foul just outside the 18-yard box on the right side. With Lyra stepping to the spot, he struck a low liner toward the left side that initially looked like a pass, but it slipped by everyone and inside the left post to bring it to a 2-0 contest.
  • Texas Wesleyan did not get its first shot on-goal in the 73^rd minute when a defensive giveaway at the edge of the left side of the box allowed for a centering pass to Nestor Salazar. However, MACU goalie Julian Huertas made a strong diving save on the shot toward the left post to force it out for a corner kick.
  • However, a minute later, the Rams found their first goal when MACU was called for a foul just inside the 18-yard box, setting up TXWES for a penalty kick. While Huertas guessed right on Diogo Stefane's PK strike toward the left post, the try had to much pace as it slipped inside the post to make it a 2-1 game with 12:08 left.
  • In the 81^st minute, MACU had a great chance at getting the goal back when a failed clearance found the foot of Dunn, but his rifled shot toward the left post pinged off it before being cleared.
  • With 5:24 left, the Evangels found some big-time insurance that proved to be the winning goal. With Elias Hirt taking a corner from the right side, he lofted it perfectly toward the left post that Guilherme Barbosa headed toward the keeper that got deflected right to Leitao, who punched in the point-blank putback into the back of the net to make it 3-1.
  • Texas Wesleyan did get the goal back with just under a minute left when Salazar lofted a send over the MACU defense to Rudy Gonzalez, sending a floater perfectly into the top right corner to wrap-up the scoring at 3-2.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian dominated the possession, out-shooting Texas Wesleyan 14-6 with a 7-4 edge in shots on-goal.
• Pedro Lyra led MACU's offensive efforts with his first career brace with the Evangels, scoring on both of his shot attempts for his second and third goals of the year.
• Leonardo Leitao became MACU's first player to reach double-digit goals scored with his 10^th of the season on-top of his fourth game-winner, moving him into a tie for the lead in the SAC.
• With his assist on the game-winner, Elias Hirt moved into the outright lead on the team in assists with seven, needing only one more to break into MACU's single season top 10 list.
• Guilherme Barbosa was also credited with an assist, notching his first of the 2026 campaign while Vito Callaci's assist on Lyra's first goal made it his second of the season.
• Julian Huertas earned his 13^th win of the season in-goal for the Evangels, tallying two saves while allowing a pair of goals. The victory allowed him to move alone into fifth on MACU's NAIA Era (2007-present) single season wins list, needing only two more to catch his coach Claudio Fuentealba (15, 2023).
• The Evangels officially cliched the Sooner Athletic Conference Championship on Friday when No. 14 John Brown suffered a 1-0 defeat at Oklahoma Panhandle State, but with the win, MACU sits at 22 points and now owns an astounding six-point lead over Oklahoma City in second (16, 5-3-1) and JBU (15, 5-3).
• Before the weekend started, the Evangels needed a win or a tie to lock up the SAC title, but with No. 14 John Brown falling 1-0 at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Friday, the Evangels owned at least a share of the league championship on Friday. With the win over the Rams, MACU made the league title their own.
• It is the fifth SAC regular season championship the Evangels have won, all of which coming since the 2021 season. For Head Coach James Roberson, it is his first at the helm of the team after helping guide MACU to their first four as an Assistant Coach.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will now prepare to close out the regular season on Wednesday as the Evangels host Wayland Baptist for Senior Night at the Dill Soccer Field. MACU will honor its 14 graduating seniors at the conclusion of the women's game before the men's game kicks off at 7:30 pm.