Mid-America Christian University

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – The MACU Men's Soccer returned to its winning ways on Saturday as it picked up 1-0 win at Dordt, notching its fourth 1-nil victory in the last five matches at the Defender Soccer Complex on Saturday afternoon.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 1, Dordt 0
  • Mid-America Christian (7-1)
  • Dordt (4-2-1)

SCORING SUMMARY

• 2^nd Half – MACU – 50:18 – Goal: Filliph Kamfjord (4), Assist: Jimmy Cabrera – MACU 1, DU 0

MATCH SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Both teams struggled to put shots on-frame in the early going, but Dordt had a dangerous chance at the go-ahead in the 22^nd minute when Jayden Donald got open on the deep ball down the left side. Freshman goalkeeper Julian Huertas came high off his line and made a sensational leaping save on the long attempt aimed toward the right post to keep it scoreless.
  • Over a 15-minute stretch, the Evangels dominated the possession as Daniel Gallagher put a header on-goal in the 24^th minute before Necsar Rojas put a header on-frame in the 39^th minute, but both lacked power and both were easily saved by DU goalkeeper Alvaro Boned.
  • Huertas was not challenged much in the first half as he only needed to make a relatively easy on Tate Hansen's soft chip shot from the right side, sending both teams into the half locked up at 0-0.
• Second Half
  • Mid-America Christian peppered the DU goalkeeper through the first six minutes of the half. Just 30 seconds in, the Evangels got a strong takeaway in the midfield and relayed a pass to Vito Callaci breaking down the left side. He made a well-placed low dribbler toward the right post, but Boned made a sensational save on it.
  • Just a minute later, the Evangels had another great chance as they quickly countered down the right side with Filliph Kamfjord going on the break, but his low liner was once again snared for the save.
  • While Leonardo Leitao had a strong shot from the left side saved toward the left post from a tight angle in the 50^th minute, the Evangels finally cashed in just a minute later. After Ben Rojas intercepted a pass in the midfield, he centered it for Jimmy Cabera, who immediately relayed it to Kamfjord breaking into the right side of the box. The junior striker slipped his shot past the keeper and inside the left post to net the lone score of the game.
  • Dordt's most dangerous chance in the second half came in the 71^st minute when a slight scrum in the left side of the box allowed a Defenders to make a pass from the ground over to Vincent Croney unmarked in the right side of the box. However, Huertas made a sensational play to slide in to block his attempt at the point of attack before the MACU defense blocked a rebound before being cleared out.
  • Neither side was able to put another shot on-frame for the rest of the contest as the Evangels came away with the 1-0 result.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian finished the contest with 12 shots, placing six on-goal to edge out Dordt in the category, who tallied 11 shots with just four being in-between the sticks.
• Junior forward Filliph Kamfjord continued to pace the MACU attack with his team-leading fourth goal of the season while Jimmy Cabrera tallied his team-leading fourth assist of the year and the ninth of his four-year Evangels career.
• Vito Callaci led the shooting efforts for MACU, taking four shots with all landing on-frame.
• Freshman goalkeeper Julian Huertas continued to build upon his strong first-season resume, improving to 7-1 in-goal on the year with his sixth shutout. He is already breaking into MACU's single season top five for shutouts, moving into a three-way tie for fifth with Austin Custar (2010) and Claudio Fuentealba (2024). The four saves he made in the contest also set a new career-high.
• The contest was the first ever meeting between the Evangels and the Defenders.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will close out non-conference action on Thursday, Sept. 17 as it will travel to Alexandria, La. for a high-profile matchup against another team receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 in LSU Alexandria. The match is slated for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff at the Generals Soccer Field.