Mid-America Christian University

HILLSBORO, Kan. – The MACU Men's Soccer team continued to stay hot in its first road trip of the 2026 season as the Evangels went into Joel H. Wiems Stadium and came away with a 3-1 victory at Tabor on Wednesday night.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 3, Tabor 1
  • Mid-America Christian (3-0-0)
  • Tabor (0-1-0)

SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – MACU – 18:24 – Goal: Ebenezer Boti (1); Assists: Jimmy Cabrera, Elias Hirt – MACU 1, TABOR 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 67:30 – Goal: Haruya Higuchi (1); Assist: Leonardo Leitao – MACU 2, TABOR 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 73:52 – Goal: Filliph Kamfjord (2); Assists: Diego Sano, Gabriel Avellan – MACU 3, TABOR 0
• 2^nd Half – TABOR – 79:50 – Goal: Sebastian Kopper (1) – MACU 3, TABOR 1

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Chances were limited in the early going as the only shot on-goal through the first 18 minutes came from Leonardo Leitao, as his attempt in the fourth minute was easily saved by Tabor goalkeeper Ignacio Fabeiro.
  • However, in the 19^th minute, the Evangels finally broke through with a set piece. After a foul was called on the Bluejays on the left side of their pitch, Elias Hirt found Jimmy Cabrera wide open in the midfield off a free kick. He lofted a perfectly placed ball into penalty box that Ebenezer Boti headed inside the right post to give MACU the 1-0 advantage.
  • Neither team was able to generate much in the offensive attack the rest of the way as Filliph Kamfjord's shot in the 31^st minute and Tabor's Noah Van Walsum's attempt in the 38^th minute were both saved, sending the game into the half at 1-nil.
• Second Half
  • MACU's best chance at a second score to start the second half came from Daniel Gallagher in the 57^th minute when Hirt delivered a perfectly placed left side corner toward the right stick. Unfortunately, Gallagher's header shot pinged off the bottom side of the crossbar and off a Bluejays defender for another corner.
  • While the Evangels continued to pepper Fabeiro in-goal, they finally got their second score in the 68^th minute. After a bit of back and forth in the box, Leonardo Leitao tracked down a loose ball at the edge of the box and flicked it back into the penalty area for Haruya Higuchi. MACU's top level striker managed to slip a backward kick in at point-blank range around the keeper and inside the left side, bringing the contest to 2-0.
  • The Evangels added to it with some spectacular passing in the 74^th minute. After Vito Callaci headed down a deep pass, Gabriel Avellan flicked it out to Diego Sano, who found the run of Kamfjord down the left side. He slipped his shot past the keeper to extend the advantage to 3-0.
  • Upon playing nearly 260 minutes of scoreless soccer to start off the season, the Evangels conceded their first goal of the season in the 80^th minute. After MACU was called for a foul for holding inside the 18-yard box, the Bluejays were awarded a penalty kick. On the free attempt, Sebastian Kopper got Huertas to guess on a shot toward the left post before being placed in the top right, bringing the score to 3-1 with 10:10 to go.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian downright dominated the possession, outshooting Tabor by a 26-3 margin, however, MACU only managed to place nine shots on-goal to two for the Bluejays.
• Ebenezer Boti scored his first career Evangels goal while Jimmy Cabrera notched his third assist of the season on it while Elias Hirt tallied his second dime.
• The goal for Haruya Higuchi not only marked his first goal of the season, but also his first career game-winning goal and his seventh career goal as a member of the Evangels. The assist for Leonardo Leitao on that play went down as his first of the year.
• Filliph Kamfjord became the first player to score multiple goals for the Evangels with his second of the year while the assist from Diego Sano tied his team-leading third while Gabriel Avellan also record his first career assist on the play.
• Julian Huertas improved to 3-0 in-goal as he finished with one goal allowed on a PK to go with a save.
• With the victory, MACU improved to 2-1 all-time against Tabor with its last result being a 4-2 victory at the Dill Soccer Field on Aug. 30, 2013. The result was the team's first win in Hillsboro, Kansas.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will make a return trip to Kansas on Saturday as the Evangels prepare to take on McPherson. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Brubaker Family Stadium.