Mid-America Christian University

CHICKASHA, Okla. – No. 19 MACU Men's Soccer team picked up a massive 2-1 road win at Science & Arts at McLaughlin Field on Tuesday night as Elias Hirt's sensational free kick winner in the 48^th minute allowed the Evangels to move back to the top of the Sooner Athletic Conference standings.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 2, Science & Arts 1
  • Mid-America Christian (10-1-2, 3-0-1 SAC)
  • Science & Arts (4-5-3, 1-3-0 SAC)

SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – MACU – 27:07 – Goal: Leonardo Leitao (7) – MACU 1, USAO 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 47:00 – Goal: Elias Hirt (2) – MACU 2, USAO 0
• 2^nd Half – USAO – 52:15 – Goal: Henry Lynch (2), Assist: Leon Rathgeb – MACU 2, USAO 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Mid-America Christian had a couple of early chances on-goal through the first 12 minutes with the best chance coming from Haruya Higuchi on a strike from the right side in the 12^th minute that didn't have much power behind it, resulting in an easy save for USAO goalkeeper Jack Sexton.
  • The Drovers had the next best chances as Juan Pablo Penagos put a strong strike on-frame from the left side that Julian Huertas knocked down before being cleared before Huertas made a much easier save on a slow roller off the foot of Cade Lorenz with just over 21 minutes to go.
  • With 17:53 remaining in the first half, Science & Arts made a costly mistake when Sexton on a free kick from the right corner made an errant deep pass across the field that was intercepted by Leonardo Leitao. Cutting into the top left corner of the box, Leitao was tripped up making his cut, forcing the officials to call a penalty kick.
  • Calling his own name on the pen, Leitao utilized a great stutter step to get Sexton to dive to his right before tapping it easily inside the right post to make it a 1-0 MACU lead.
  • The only other shot on-goal the rest of the half came from Filliph Kamfjord as he got by his defenders down the right side of the box and took a strong strike on-goal that Sexton was able to force out for a corner kick.
• Second Half
  • It didn't take long for the Evangels to add what ended up being the game-winning goal just three minutes into the second stanza. After Daniel Gallagher was grabbed after making the turn and taking a high shot on the right side of the penalty box, the Evangels were awarded a free kick.
  • With the Evangels lining up Matias Garcia and Elias Hirt on the attempt, Hirt made a stellar strong strike toward the right post that glanced off the hands of the keeper and into the back of the net from about 22 yards out to make it a 2-0 contest.
  • In the 53^rd minute, the Drovers got the goal back when a foul from outside MACU's 18-yard box set up USAO with a free kick from about 30 yards out. After having the initial free kick cleared away twice, USAO found their goal when Leon Rathgeb sent a ball back into the mixer that Henry Lynch slipped by a pair of MACU defenders on the half-volley inside the right post, making it a 2-1 game.
  • However, MACU's defense buckled down for the remainder of the contest as it only allowed one off-target shot off the foot of Callum Scott in the 58^th minute.
  • The Evangels only had two more on-target chances over the rest of the contest as well as Higuchi had his chance in the 64^th minute that ended up being a slow roller that he couldn't get much power behind for an easy save.
  • Hirt also had a chance to go for his second goal on a corner in the 88^th minute as it was the second time he tried to curl a left side corner into the net, but both of his corner chances in the were stopped in the second half.

MATCH NOTES

• In the gritty defensive contest, Mid-America Christian held the 10-6 shot advantage over Science & Arts while more effectively placing eight on-target on only three being on-frame for the Drovers
• Leonardo Leitao continued adding to his team goal lead with his seventh goal of the season while improving to 4-for-4 on penalty kick goals. With his fourth, Leitao becomes only the fifth Evangel in program history to net four or more pens in a season, joining a pair of MACU legends in MACU Player of the Decade Raphael Bonelle (2015) and MACU's all-time leading goal scorer in Rodrigo Albuquerque (2022) for third on the list.
• The game-winner for Elias Hirt marked his second goal of the season and his first winning goal as a member of the Evangels. Hirt also led MACU's offensive efforts with a team-high four shots, three being on-goal.
• Freshman goalkeeper Julian Huertas improved to 9-1-2 in-goal for the Evangels after allowing just one goal and making a pair of saves.
• With the victory, the Evangels remain undefeated against the Drovers since the 2020 season, improving to 7-0-3 over USAO in that time frame. However, the win for MACU was their first at McLaughlin Field since Mar. 13, 2021 (COVID year) as the previous two meetings in Chickasha ended in a 2-2 and 1-1 draw.
• Mid-America Christian moved to the top of the SAC table with the win and John Brown, Oklahoma City, and Wayland Baptist all suffering losses on Tuesday night.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will now prepare for a massive home match on Saturday as the Evangels host No. 8 John Brown for a high-profile top 25 contest slated for a 7:30 pm kickoff at the Dill Soccer Field.