Mid-America Christian University

GOODWELL, Okla. – The MACU Men's Soccer team found its footing on the offensive end in its Sooner Athletic Conference opener at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday night as Leonardo Leitao and Klaus Gartner each finished with a brace to lead the Evangels to a 4-1 victory inside Anchor D Stadium.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 4, Oklahoma Panhandle State 1
  • Mid-America Christian (8-1-1, 1-0-0 SAC)
  • Oklahoma Panhandle State (3-5-0, 0-1-0 SAC)

SCORING SUMMARY

• 1^st Half – MACU – 43:54 – Goal: Leonardo Leitao (2) – MACU 1, OPSU 0
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 56:04 – Goal: Leonardo Leitao (3) – MACU 2, OPSU 0
• 2^nd Half – OPSU – 65:16 – Goal: Simon Echeverry (1) – MACU 2, OPSU 1
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 70:44 – Goal: Klaus Gartner (2), Assist: Elias Hirt – MACU 3, OPSU 1
• 2^nd Half – MACU – 74:55 – Goal: Klaus Gartner (3), Assist: Daniel Gallagher – MACU 4, OPSU 1

GAME SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Mid-America Christian was the early aggressor as Leonardo Leitao got open look from the left side of the box on a cross from the right side just over a minute in, but OPSU keeper Mateja Stefanovic made a strong diving save on the attempt to his left before the Aggies eventually cleared it after blocking Jimmy Cabrera's attempt off the rebound.
  • At the tail end of the seventh minute, the Evangels had a phenomenal chance at a go-ahead when Matias Garcia on the run down the left side tracked the deep cross, centering it to Ellis Dunn for an open look in the middle of the box. Unfortunately, his chip pinged off the bottom of the crossbar before Vito Callaci's rebounded attempt sailed just wide left to keep it scoreless.
  • The Evangels had another great opportunity to take the lead in the 17^th minute when a foul on the right side set up Cabrera for a cross. After a brief scrum in the box, Callaci fired a shot through the defense that Stefanovic made a stellar kick save before the ball was cleared out of the box.
  • Oklahoma Panhandle State's best chance in the first half came in the 41^st minute off a set piece from the left side. The deep cross toward the right side of the box found the head of Callum Murphy as MACU goalkeeper Julian Huertas made a strong diving save at the right post to force it out for an Aggies corner.
  • The game completely flipped on its head with just over a minute remaining, after Garcia's deep cross into the penalty box was briefly punched out by the Aggies keeper, Elias Hirt corralled the loose ball and took a wide-open attempt on-goal with only OPSU's Pablo Benavides back to defend. The Aggies reached out and pushed the for-sure goal over the crossbar, resulting an automatic red card and giving MACU a penalty.
  • On the ensuing pen, Leonardo Leitao baited Stefanovic to jump to his left before firing it into the wide-open left side of the net, giving MACU the 1-0 advantage heading into the half.
• Second Half
  • Mid-America Christian had a golden opportunity to add to it in the 51^st minute when Ellis Dunn was tripped up going on the attack inside the box, setting up a MACU penalty kick. However, with Hirt stepping to the spot to take the PK, his attempt pinged off the crossbar before his rebound was snared by the keeper, keeping it a one-score game.
  • With 33:07 remaining, the Evangels were awarded yet another penalty kick when Daniel Gallagher was grabbed at the top left part of the penalty box. This time, Leitao attempted his second pen of the match, perfectly slotting it inside the right post to make it 2-0.
  • MACU had a couple of great chances in the 60^th and 64^th minutes when Necsar Rojas had a header attempt off a short corner that was too direct to the keeper before Filliph Kamfjord had a great open chance on the left side of the box that Stefanovic made a strong stabbing kick save.
  • Two minutes later, OPSU took advantage of a penalty of their own. Off a left side corner, there was a slight trip in the box that forced the call for the fourth total penalty kick of the match. On the attempt, Simon Echeverry got Huertas to dive to his left before chipping it into the open left side to make it a 2-1 game.
  • In the 70^th minute, the Evangels found a strong response when MACU cycled the ball across from the right side-to-center-to-left when Hirt dished it out to Klaus Gartner on the left side. Dribbling around one defender, he rifled a sensational strike into the top left corner of the goal to extend the MACU edge back to two at 3-1.
  • With just over 15 minutes to go, the Evangels added another. With Daniel Gallagher breaking down the right side, he made a sensational pass across the face of the goal for Gartner, who redirected his attempt toward the right post for his second score of the game, making it 4-1.
  • Neither side had a great scoring chance over the final 15 minutes as the Evangels went to their bench in grinding out the remaining time in the win.

MATCH NOTES

• Mid-America Christian dominated a bulk load of the possession, out-shooting Oklahoma Panhandle State 18-7 with a commanding 9-4 edge in shots on-goal.
• Leonardo Leitao continued displaying his penalty kick striking ability as his pair of pens allowed him to improve to 3-for-3 on PKs this season, breaking him into the program's top five for most penalty kick goals in a season. His second PK also went down as the game-winner, making it his second of the season to move into a tie with Filliph Kamfjord for the team lead.
• Klaus Gartner also recorded his first career brace with the Evangels with the effort, moving into a tie for second with Leitao for the most goals on the team with three.
• The assist for Elias Hirt marked third of the season while Daniel Gallagher recorded his first career point with the Evangels with his assist on the final goal.
• Freshman goalkeeper Julian Huertas improved to 8-1-1 in-goal for the Evangels as he notched three saves and only allowed one goal on a penalty kick for a .750 save percentage for the match.
• With the victory, the Evangels avenged a heartbreaking loss to Oklahoma Panhandle State at home last season while it also marked the fourth time in nine meetings that MACU beat the Aggies by three or more goals.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will have a short turnaround before it hosts Central Christian for Futbol Fiesta Night at the Dill Soccer Field on Monday. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.