OKAHOMA CITY – The MACU Men's Soccer team will enter into the 2026 season with some high expectations after the Evangels were picked to finish second in the Sooner Athletic Conference preseason poll released on Tuesday morning. The Evangels are bracing to open their season at home on Thursday as MACU hosts Paul Quinn for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff at the Dill Soccer Field.

The Evangels received 72 points and three first-place votes in the ranking voted upon by the league's head coaches, finishing ahead of John Brown in third with 69 points and Southwestern Christian rounding out the top four with 51 points. Oklahoma City was picked as the preseason favorite with 78 points and seven first-place votes.
 
SEASON PREVIEW

• Players to Watch:
  • Top Returners:
    • Haruya Higuchi – SR – F
      • 2025 All-SAC First Team
      • 2025 Stats: 17 GP, 14 GS, 6 Goals, 5 Assists, 17 Points, 38 Shots, 17 SOG, 1023 MIN
    • Jimmy Cabrera – SR – M
      • 2025 All-SAC Second Team
      • 2025 Stats: 22 GP, 16 GS, 3 Goals, 2 Assists, 8 Points, 13 Shots, 8 SOG, 1337 MIN
    • Diego Sano – SR – M (C)
      • 2025 Stats: 21 GP, 21 GS, 4 Assists, 4 Points, 6 Shots, 1731 MIN
    • Elias Hirt – JR – M (C)
      • 2025 Stats: 18 GP, 10 GS, 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 3 Points, 5 Shots, 1 SOG, 1080 MIN
  • Top Newcomers:
    • Daniel Gallagher – JR – F – Previous School: Coastal Bend (Texas)
      • Scored eight goals and dished out six assists in two seasons at Coastal Bend
    • Ebenezer Boti – SR – D – Previous School: Oral Roberts (Okla.)
      • Saw action in 11 games last season for NCAA D-I Oral Roberts
    • Leonardo Leitao – JR – M – Previous School: Cowley (Kan.)
      • Scored seven goals and dished out five assists in 2025 for Cowley
    • Ellis Dunn – FR – M – Previous School: Riseholme College (I.O.M.)
      • Captain of the Isle of Man National Team
• Last Season at a Glance:
  • 2025 Record: 9-9-4 (5-2-2 SAC)
  • Mid-America Christian will be looking to bounce back from a tough 2025 campaign that saw the Evangels wrap up the season with a 9-9-4 overall record and finished third in the SAC standings with a 5-2-2 league mark.
  • The Evangels saw their streak of qualifying for the NAIA National Tournament snapped in a tough outcome in the SAC Semifinal when they dropped a hard-fought 2-1 decision at John Brown on Nov. 7, 2025.
  • The Evangels hosted the NCCAA Central Region Tournament, but unfortunately their season came to a challenging end as Nelson upset MACU in a 3-2 result at the Dill Soccer Field on Nov. 21.
• What to Expect in 2026:
  • The Evangels will have a new look to them heading into the new season as long time assistant James Roberson takes over the reigns of the program after a seven-year tenure on the bench.
  • On the 32-man varsity roster, Mid-America Christian has only 12 returners that will be spearheaded by Team Captains Diego Sano and Elias Hirt. The senior in Sano spearheaded MACU's offense and defense a season ago from his center-mid position while Hirt will be looking to return to his NJCAA All-American form in his junior campaign.
  • Senior forward Haruya Higuchi will be looking to lead MACU's offensive efforts. An All-SAC First Team honoree last season, Higuchi was the team's second-leading scorer a year ago despite missing significant time in the early season due to injury, ending the year with a team-leading five assists and six goals for 17 points.
  • The Evangels also return another solid All-SAC Second Team honoree in Jimmy Cabrera, who is the lone fourth-year on the squad. Cabrera is coming off his best season as an Evangel, tallying three goals and two assists in 22 games, making 16 starts in 2025. Overall in his MACU career, he has competed in 57 games and is on the cusp of breaking into the team's top 10 for most games played.
  • MACU features a bumper crop of incoming talent that will be looking to turn some heads. In the attack, forward Daniel Gallagher headlines the group after a strong two-year career at Coastal Bend College, where he ended his tenure with eight goals and six assists, showing sensational striking ability for MACU during the preseason.
  • Junior Leonardo Leitao brings in sensational ball-handling abilities for the Evangels in the midfield, coming off a stellar season at Cowley College as he turned in seven goals and five assists a year ago for the Tigers.
  • The Evangels also added some talented youth to its midfield with the addition of freshman Ellis Dunn. The freshman phenom comes to MACU after serving as the Team Captain for the Isle of Man National Team.
  • Mid-America Christian continues its tradition of bringing in sensational center-backs with the addition of Ebenezer Boti. An NCAA D-I transfer from Oral Roberts, Boti has shown incredible instinct for MACU's lockdown back row that has competed well in the preseason.
  • The goalkeeper position will be a strong mix of experience and youth with freshman Julian Huertas and junior Leonardo Martinelli showing strong skill during the preseason leadup to start of the season.
• Key Matches:
  • MACU will once again look to test itself in the non-conference before it enters SAC play. The Evangels host a pair of tough opponents in Concordia (Neb.) on Aug. 22, the GPAC Tournament Champions a year ago as well as traditional NAIA powerhouse Bellevue on Sept. 5.
  • The Evangels will also make a strong Midwest road swing to Iowa in mid-September, challenging Northwestern on Sept. 10 and Dordt on Sept. 12.
  • Mid-America Christian will get to host a pair of huge league matches in back-to-back Saturdays as the Evangels bring in John Brown on Oct. 10 before crosstown foe Oklahoma City comes to the Dill on Oct. 17.
  • The Evangels will host Wayland Baptist in their Senior Night match on Oct. 27 as well as their Alumni Day against Concordia on Saturday.