MACU Cruises to Central Region Championship Game

11/1/07 OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla- The Mid-America Christian University Evangels cruised on into the Central Region Championship Game Thursday, Nov 1 when they beat the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles. MACU handled OWU 5-2.

“It feels good to get this win,” Head Coach Zach Bice said. “Our boys worked hard to get to this point and will need to work just as hard to make it to the National Tournament.”

The Evangels took control of the game early and never trailed. Dylan Finch started the Evangel offensive attack early with a goal that was assisted by Bryce Jantz. Finch scored the only goal of the first half and MACU took a 1-0 halftime lead.

MACU came alive in the second half, scoring three unanswered goal and putting the game away. Finch, Tyler May, and Jantz picked up the goals, while Marvin Lazo, and Finch contributed the assists.

The Eagles scored a goal late in the second half, but Felix Banjo responded with a goal of his own off a Donte Roberti assist. The Eagles would go on to score a goal in the extra minutes, but it was too little too late as MACU capped off the 5-2 win.

Finch had a good game with two goals and two assists. Austin Custar finished with 10 saves, with most of them coming in the first half.

The Evangels improve to 10-7-2 and receive a birth in the Central Region Championship Game.

MACU will travel to Conway, Ark Saturday, Nov 3 and play Central Baptist College at 12:00. The Evangels fell to CBC earlier in the year with a dramatic 3-2 loss.

MACU Falls Short in Defensive Battle

10/29/07 San Antonio, Texas- The Mid-America Christian University Evangels (9-7-2) fell short in a defensive battle against Our Lady of the Lakes University Saints (10-4-1). MACU fell to the Saints 2-1.

"We played well overall," Coach Zach Bice said. "We failed to take advantage on some opportunities in the second half."

The first half was a defensive battle, with both teams recording one goal a piece. Tyler Jones scored the unassisted goal for the Evangels, while Dallas Longfellow scored the goal for the Saints.

The second half was back and forth, as both teams made big defensive plays. The Saints Jose Ortiz broke through the Evangels defense mid-way through the second half and scored the go ahead goal.

MACU continued to play hard, but could never get through the Saints defense and picked up the 2-1 loss.

"We played hard, but we could not find the back of the net," Coach Bice said.

Austin Custar had 13 saves in the loss.

MACU falls to 9-7-2.

The Evangels will host the first round of the Central Region Tournament Thursday, November 1, against Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles at 4:00 p.m.

MACU Set to Hold First Round of Regionals

10/26/07 Oklahoma City- The Mid-America Christian University Evangels will host the first round of the NCCAA Div I Central Region Tournament. MACU received the #2 seed in the tournament and will play Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

The game will be Tuesday, Oct 30. The time has yet to be determined.

The Evangels defeated Oklahoma Wesleyan earlier in the year, 6-2.

"I am excited about hosting the first round," Coach Bice said. "It is a tribute on how hard the guys worked this year. It is a big honor."

MACU is 9-6-2 and 1-1 in Central Region play.

The Championship Game will be held Friday, Nov 2 in Conway, Ark at Central Baptist College.

Evangels Fall to Rogers State

10/23/07 Oklahoma City- The Mid-America Christian University Evangels fell to Rogers State University Monday, Oct 22. Rogers State defeated MACU 1-4.

Rogers State jumped on the Evangels early, scoring two goals in the opening three minutes of the game.

The Evangels defense held strong the rest of the half, but the offense was stalled and held scoreless.

In the second half, the Evangels offense came alive when Dylan Finch capitalized on a Tyler Jones pass and found the back of the net.

However, the Rogers State offense scored two quick goals and put the game out of reach for the Evangels.

MACU had nine shots on goal compared to Rogers State's nineteen. Austin Custar had five saves.

The Evangels fell to 9-6-2 on the season.

MACU will travel to San Antonio, Texas and play Our Lady of the Lake University at 1:00, Friday, Oct 26.

MACU Loses to OCU

10/17/07 Oklahoma City- Mid-America Christian University lost to Oklahoma City University Tuesday, Oct. 17. OCU defeated MACU 1-9.

The Evangels played exceptional defense early, holding OCU to no goals.

OCU found the back of the net at the 35 minute mark and the Evangels could never recover.

OCU scored four first half goals and five second half goals to complete the win.

MACU's lone goal came from Joey Yeisley and was assisted by Kyle Miller.

Austin Custar picked up 12 saves.

MACU falls to 9-5-2.

The Evangels will travel to Claremoore, Okla and play Rogers State University Monday, Oct 22. Game time is 7:00.

MACU Wins Last Home Game

10/9/07 Oklahoma City- Mid-America Christian University won their last home game of the season Tuesday, Oct. 9. MACU defeated Hillsdale Freewill Baptist College 7-1.

The Evangels scored early and often, posting the first three goals of the game.

Hillsdale would manage to score their only goal just before halftime and cut the lead 3-1.

MACU shut out Hillsdale in the second half, outscoring Hillsdale 4-0.
(Photo Provided by Chris Sperling)

Marvin Lazo and Tyler Jones each had good games with two goals and an assist.

Bryce Jantz and Tyler May had a goal and an assist a piece for the Evangels. Felix Banjo scored his second goal of the season to complete the Evangel scoring.

Kyle Pezant and Kyle Miller each pick up an assist in the win.

"It feels good to win the last home game," Coach Bice said. "We have a tough stretch of road games, but I think the home stand helped us get our focus back."

The Evangels have won three straight games, giving up only one goal in that stretch.

"Our defense has been there day in and day out," Coach Bice said.

The Evangels improve to 9-4-2.

MACU will travel to Oklahoma City University Tuesday, Oct. 16. Game time is set for 5:00.

MACU Rolls Over CBC

10/6/07 Oklahoma City- Mid-America Christian University rolled over Central Bible College Saturday, Oct. 6. MACU shut-out CBC 6-0.

The Evangels recorded their second straight shut-out and their third shut-out of the season.

"Our defense is coming together at the right time," Coach Bice said. "We have some challenging games coming up and our defense will have to come up big for us."

MACU used a strong second half to defeat CBC.

The Evangels scored two goals in the first half and four goals in the second half to complete the 6-0 win.

MACU out shot CBC 19-3 and Austin Custar had three saves.

Marvin Lazo had a terrific game for the Evangels, scoring two goals and picking up one assist.

Bryce Jantz had one goal and one assist, while Tyler Jones, Tyler May, and Dylan Finch picked up the remaining goals.

Joey Yeisley contributed two assists and Jaime Barahona picked up an assist.

The Evangels improve to 8-4-2.

MACU will host Hillsdale Freewill Baptist College Tuesday, Oct. 9 at 4:00.

MACU Defeats BBC

10/5/07 Oklahoma City- Mid-America Christian University defeated Baptist Bible College Friday, Oct. 5. The Evangels shut-out BBC 8-0.

The MACU defense recorded their second shut-out of the season.

"It was good to pick up the win," Coach Bice said. "Our defense really came through in this game."

The Evangels dominated BBC from the beginning, scoring four goals in the first half. MACU scored four goals in the second half to round out the scoring.

Tyler Jones had a tremendous game with two goals and two assists. Bryce Jantz contributed two goals.

(Photo Provided by Chris Sperling)

Kyle Pezant, Marvin Lazo, Dylan Finch, and Casey King scored a goal each.

Donte Roberti had two assists, while Kit Stephenson, Pezant, King, and Finch all picked up assists.

MACU out shot BBC 23-1.

"We have a tough stretch of games coming up and it was good to see our guys playing well," Coach Bice said.

The Evangels improve to 7-4-2.

MACU will host Central Bible College Saturday, Oct. 6 at 3:00.

MACU Introduces First Champions of Character Recipient

10/5/07 Oklahoma City- Mid-America Christian University has built a proud and successful athletic tradition. MACU has eight sports, with a total of nine national championships, but winning does not personify an Evangel student-athlete.

Kendall Elliott represents a MACU student-athlete. Elliott received the Champions of Character Award for his leadership on and off the playing field.

Elliott, a freshman at MACU, plays men’s soccer and is a 2007 graduate of Norman High School.

"Kendall is always positive and encouraging to his teammates," MACU Head Men’s Soccer Coach Zac Bice said. "He is an encouraging and positive player on and off the field. He is a model of character on the men’s soccer team."

MACU introduced the Champions of Character program last year when they were accepted into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

MACU will introduce a Champions of Character winner at the beginning of every month.

MACU and Dallas Christian End in Tie

10/2/07 Dallas, Texas- Mid-America Christian University and Dallas Christian College ended their game in a tie Tuesday, Oct. 2. MACU and DCC tied 4-4.

"Our offense was clicking, but our defense struggled," Coach Bice said.

Dallas Christian jumped on the Evangels early, taking a 2-0 lead.

MACU managed to score a goal before halftime, when Tyler Jones scored off of a Bryce Jantz pass.

Dallas Christian went into halftime with a 2-1 lead.

"I was very disappointed at halftime," Coach Bice said. "We played to the level of our opponent."

Dallas Christian opened up the second half with another goal and a comfortable 3-1 lead.

The Evangels came storming back and scored three straight goals.

Jantz started the Evangel rally, scoring a goal shortly after Dallas Christian scored their third goal.

Joey Yeisley tied the game and Tyler May put the Evangels ahead, capping off the rally.

"I was pleased to see our team respond, especially after being down 3-1," Coach Bice said.

The minutes started ticking away and MACU was grasping a hold of their 4-3 lead, but Dallas Christian scored a goal late and tied the game 4-4.

The Evangels are 6-4-2.

MACU will host Baptist Bible College Friday, Oct. 5 at 4:00.

Evangels Come Up Short Against CBC

9/29/07 Oklahoma City- Mid-America Christian University came up one goal short against Central Baptist College Friday, Sept. 28. CBC defeated MACU 2-3.

"We missed out on some golden opportunities," Coach Bice said.

The first half was an offensive struggle, with both goalies making tremendous saves. MACU and CBC went into the locker room scoreless at halftime.

(Picture Provided by Chris Sperling)

"Our defense came up big in the first half," Coach Bice said. "They did a good job covering the offenses mistakes."

The Evangel offense came alive in the second half and scored in the opening minutes. Matt Ross picked up the goal off an assist by Chris Skillern.

The two defenses picked up again as both teams struggled to find the net through most of the second half.

CBC scored three goals within ten minutes late in the second half and took a 1-3 lead.

"Our defense had a real let down late in the game," Coach Bice said.

The Evangels responded when Dylan Finch scored off a Kyle Pezant pass, cutting the lead 2-3.

The momentum quickly began to shift in the MACU favor. The Evangels were running out of time and missed a golden opportunity with seconds remaining.

"We had a perfect chance to tie, but we could not find the net," Coach Bice said.

The Evangels fell to 6-4-1.

MACU will travel to Dallas Christian College Tuesday, October 2. Game time is set for 5:00.

Evangels Beat Bacone

9/25/07 Oklahoma City- Mid-America Christian University beat Bacone College 3-0 Tuesday, Sept. 25. The Evangels have won four out of their last five games.

"We were aggressive and attacked their defense," Coach Bice said. "It was a big win."

MACU recorded their first shut out of the season.

Bryce Jantz broke a scoreless tie with an unassisted goal late in the first half.

(Picture provided by Chris Sperling)

The Evangels would carry the 1-0 lead into halftime.

The second half was all MACU as they wore down the Bacone defense.

Kyle Pezant scored a key insurance goal for the Evangels and Marvin Lazo put the game out of reach when he scored a goal mid-way through the second half.

"We came out and really played hard in the second half," Coach Bice said. "We picked their defense and capitalize."

Austin Custar finished the game with 11 saves

Dylan Finch picked up the only assist for the Evangels.

MACU is 6-3-1 on the season.

The Evangels will host Central Baptist College Friday, Sept. 28 at 4:00.

Evangels Falls to St. Gregory's

9/24/07 Oklahoma City- Mid-America Christian University fell to St. Gregory's University 0-3 Thursday, Sept. 20. The loss ends MACU's three game winning streak.

"We played well," Coach Bice said. "We just could not capitalize on some of our opportunities."

The first half was a defensive battle, with both teams held scoreless.

The second half was much like the first half with both goalies making tremendous saves.

The game remained scoreless with less than fifteen minutes remaining.

(Picture provided by Chris Sperling)

MACU missed a golden opportunity when Felix Banjo missed a wide open goal with ten minutes left in the game.

St. Gregory's scored three goals in a five minute stretch to beat the Evangels 0-3.

Austin Custar had a tremendous game with 11 saves.

MACU had just five shots, while St. Gregory's had twelve shots.

The Evangels are 5-3-1.

MACU will host Bacone College Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 5:00.

Evangels Keep on Winning

9/17/07 Springfield, MO- Mid-America Christian University continued their winning streak Friday, stretching it to three games. The Evangels beat Central Bible College 4-1 Friday, September 14 to continue the streak.

"We continue to play well," Coach Bice said. "It feels good to win some games."

The Evangels jumped out on CBC early and never looked back.

"We put the game away early and that was key," Coach Bice said.

Felix Banjo scored the first Evangel goal; Donte Roberti picked up the assist.

Tyler Jones scored on a penalty kick to make it 2-0 as the Evangels would take that lead into halftime.

MACU dominated the second half much like the first half.

Kyle Pezant, coming off his game winning goal at Southwestern College, scored to make it 3-0. Dylan Finch picked up the assist.

Bryce Jantz scored the final goal for the Evangels off of an assist by Kyle Miller.

MACU picked up the 4-1 win and their fourth in five games.

MACU improved to 5-2-1 on the season.

MACU will host St. Gregory's University Thursday, September 20. Game time is set for 4:00.

Evangels Win in Overtime

9/14/07 Winfield, KS- The Evangels squeaked out a win in overtime against Southwestern College Thursday, September 13. Kyle Pezant scored the game winning goal to beat Southwestern 3-2.

"It was a good win," Coach Bice said. "We are getting some experience in winning the close games."

This was the second overtime game of the season for the Evangels. MACU tied with Bethany College earlier in the year.

The Evangels have been on a hot streak, winning three out of their last four games.

In the first half, MACU and Southwestern struggled to get the ball in the net, but both teams turned it on in the second half and scored two goals.

Joey Yeisley scored an unassisted goal early in the second half for the Evangels, but Southwestern quickly answered with a goal of their own.

Bryce Jantz received a pass from Donte Roberti to score the second Evangel goal and force overtime.

Kyle Pezant planted a goal in the upper right hand corner in overtime to seal an Evangel win. Jantz picked up the assist.

MACU out shot Southwestern 18-15.

Austin Custar had 15 saves.

The Evangels improved their record to 4-2-1.

MACU will host St. Gregory's University Thursday, September 20. Game time is set for 4:00.

Evangels Split in Texas

9/12/07 Waxahachie, TX- The Evangels traveled to Texas last weekend to play Texas Wesleyan and Southwestern Assemblies of God University. On Friday, Texas Wesleyan defeated MACU 1-3 and on Saturday MACU defeated SAGU 2-1 in overtime.

"We had a good weekend overall," Coach Bice said. "It would have been nice to win both games, but Texas Wesleyan was a good team."

On Friday, Texas Wesleyan scored two goals mid-way through the first half and put the Evangels in a 0-2 hole at halftime.

MACU's Bryce Jantz scored an unassisted goal in the opening minutes of the second half to cut the lead 1-2.

MACU and Texas Wesleyan battled back and forth the entire second half, but Texas Wesleyan scored an insurance goal late in the second half and beat MACU 1-3.

MACU was out shot 6-35.

"The big key in the game was the shot count," Coach Bice said.

Austin Custar had seven saves.

On Saturday, MACU battled SAGU in a game that would need overtime.

SAGU did the only scoring in the first half and led 0-1 at halftime.

The game continued to be close in the second half, but Tyler Jones was able to get Joey Yeisley the ball for a goal to tie the game.

The game could not be decided in regulation and it went into overtime.

"I was confident going into overtime, because of our experience in overtime games this year," Coach Bice said.

In overtime, Jantz capitalized by scoring off of a Jones assist and the Evangels won the game 2-1.

The Evangels have a record of 3-2-1.

On Thursday, September 13 MACU will travel to Winfield, KS to battle Southwestern College. Game time is 7:00.

Evangels have Successful Road Trip

9/4/07 Bethany, KS- The Evangels traveled to Kansas last weekend to play Bethany College and Central Christian College. On Friday, MACU and Bethany ended in a 3-3 tie; and on Saturday MACU defeated Central Christian College 8-1.

"We had a good weekend," Coach Bice said. "It would have been nice to win two games, but we did not lose any games."

On Friday, MACU battled against Bethany College.

In the first half, MACU struggled to get the ball in the net, while Bethany College took a 0-1 lead.

The Evangels would respond in the second half with three goals, but Bethany would score two goals and force overtime.

Both teams were held scoreless in overtime and the game ended in a 3-3 tie.

Matt Ross, Chris Skillern, and Clint Paxton scored for the Evangels.

On Saturday, MACU played Central Christian College.

MACU dominated Central Christian from the opening kick-off to the final whistle, winning 8-1.

Bryce Jantz scored four goals and picked up two assists in the win.

Dylan Finch, Kyle Pezant, and Tyler Jones rounded out the Evangel scoring, while Central Christian scored on themselves.

Marvin Lazo, Joey Yeisley, Jones, Finch, and Kyle Miller had assists.

The Evangels improved to 2-1-1 on the young season.

MACU will travel to Texas this weekend to play Texas Wesleyan and Southwest Assemblies of God University.

On Friday, MACU will play Texas Wesleyan; and on Saturday MACU will play SAGU.

Jantz Lead Evangels in Route

8/29/07 Oklahoma City- Bryce Jantz and the Evangels defeated Oklahoma Wesleyan 6-2 Tuesday, Aug 28. Jantz scored four goals in the win.

The Evangels dominated from the opening minute.

MACU's Tyler Jones started off the scoring for the Evangels with a goal in the opening minutes.

Jantz scored his first goal of the game off a corner kick and stretched the Evangel 2-0. MACU would go into the locker room at halftime with the same lead.

The second half was dominated by the Evangels, out scoring OWU 4-2.

Jantz scored two goals before OWU scored their first goal.

Jantz scored his fourth goal late in the second half to finish his four goal night.

Oklahoma Wesleyan scored its second goal right after Jantz scored his fourth goal.

MACU's Clint Paxton finished the Evangel scoring with a goal in the final minutes of the game.

MACU improves to 1-1 on the year.

MACU will take a weekend trip Kansas Friday and Saturday, Aug 31- Sep 1. MACU will play Bethany College and Central Christian College.

Evangel Comeback Falls Short

8/24/08 Oklahoma City- The Evangels fell to Our Lady of the Lakes College today, 2-3. The Evangels came back after being down, but dug themselves too big of a hole.

"If we only played the first half like the second half, we probably would have won," Coach Bice said after the game. "We just dug ourselves too deep."

The Evangels went into the first game of the season wanting to make a statement, proving that this was a new year and a new team.

The game started off well as MACU fought off the pressure and put the pressure on Our Lady of the Lakes.

The game was scoreless until the Evangels gave up a goal mid-way through the first half, and gave up two more quick ones and the Evangels failed to capitalize on some opportunities.

MACU went into the locker room at halftime down 0-3.

"I was disappointed at halftime," Coach Bice said.

The Evangels came out of the locker room with more fire than the first half, as they desperately tried to make it a game.

MACU was able to get on the board when Clint Paxton received a pass from Donte Roberti and made the game 1-3.

MACU continued to fight hard and the momentum was switching to the MACU side.

Bryce Jantz made it a game when he received a pass from Claxton to score with 20 minutes remaining, but that would be the closest the Evangels would get as the comeback fell short.

The Evangels fell to 0-1.

MACU will host Oklahoma Wesleyan University Tuesday, Aug 28 at 5:00.

New Season Starts for MACU

8/24/07 Oklahoma City- Another year, another season for the MACU soccer team. Coach Zac Bice and the Evangels will begin another season of MACU soccer.

MACU will be hosting Our Lady of the Lakes this afternoon. Game time will begin at 1:00.

This is the first regular season game for the Evangels. MACU battled the University of Science and Arts last Tuesday in an exhibition match-up where the Evangels fell 2-3.

"We played well against USAO, but we could not capitalize on some opportunities," Coach said. "It was a good start to our season."

This is a new look Evangel squad with only four players returning from the year before. However, this is the most talented team that Coach Bice has put together while coaching at MACU.

"We are young, but talented. I think that we will surprise some teams and fans this year," Coach Bice stated.

The Evangels will be led by Bryce Jantz, last years leader in goals scored, and a nucleus of strong returners and recruits.

The Evangels will no longer compete for the NCCAA Div II title, but will be setting there eyes on a berth to the NAIA or NCCAA Div I championships.

"I believe that if we play hard that we can make a run at the play-offs," Coach Bice said.

If you are interested in the MACU Evangel soccer program, contact the Coach Bice at zbice@macu.edu or call (405) 692-3283.