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Arizona Christian University

OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE OF ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
ACU Men's Soccer lines up for National Anthem
Thomas Aeschleman

Men's Soccer Payne Moses

Challenging road test on Firestorm’s horizon

Oklahoma City, Okla.- Prior to the conference portion of their schedule, ACU Men's Soccer eyes two difficult road games in Oklahoma City. It all begins Thursday night with Mid-America Christian, who currently boasts the #2 ranking in the NAIA. The Firestorm then have a date with Oklahoma City University on Saturday, a historically strong team who is unbeaten at home. 

Match Details
Arizona Christian at Mid-America Christian - Thursday, September 14 at 5:30 PM
Arizona Christian at Oklahoma City University - Saturday, September 16 at 10:00 AM

Dill Soccer Field - Oklahoma City, OK
Brian Harvey Field - Oklahoma City, OK

*All Times Listed Are Arizona Time

Live Coverage
Video - https://sacsportsnetwork.com/macuevangels/?B=600365, https://sacsportsnetwork.com/ocustars/?B=606709 
Live Stats - https://macuathletics.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary, https://www.ocusports.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary 

Arizona Christian
Headed into this away series, the Firestorm won two consecutive games against Eastern Oregon (2-1) and Oregon Tech (2-1). Ted Krzywiecki celebrated his 25th victory as the head coach of ACU Men's Soccer in the win over Oregon Tech. Midfielder Marlon Arce is the leading goal scorer (3) for the Firestorm and midfielder Aiden Abbitt owns the most assists (2) and shots (16). ACU now possesses second place in the GSAC standings only behind Hope International.

ACU Key Players
Marlon Arce - 3 goals, 10 shots on goal
Cristhian Flores - 2 goals, 5 shots on goal
Aiden Abbitt - 2 assists, 6 shots on goal
Jose Garcia - 1 goal, 1 assist, 5 shots
Tiago Soares - 1 assist, 7 shots
Carlos Gallardo - 20 saves (.833 save percentage)

Series Notes
The Firestorm trail 0-2 in their series with Mid-America Christian, one game home and one away. Both meetings in 2019 and 2020 saw ACU shutout (1-0 and 2-0). Thursday marks the first time the Firestorm will face MACU under Coach Ted Krzywiecki.

Saturday's contest will be the first meeting between ACU and the Oklahoma City University Stars.

Coach Ted Krzywiecki's Thoughts
"Our guys have shown that they enjoy the opportunities to play the best teams possible and we have two more this week in Oklahoma," Coach Krzywiecki said. "Even with a few guys in and out of the lineup our guys have responded very well against good opponents. We know Mid-America Christian has been one of the top teams in the NAIA over the past few years. They have not lost on their home field in two years and they play a difficult schedule… We expect that they will be very organized and difficult to break down, while posing some significant attacking threats. Oklahoma City has historically been a very strong program and they are off to another great start only losing one game out of their first 5. Last year their team won 10 games and they are always a contender in the SAC… They have attacking threats that we need to be prepared for and that will challenge our defensive organization… We have already been in some great battles through the first month of the season, and we look forward to two more."

Mid-America Christian
The Mid-America Christian Evangels (4-0-1) were dubbed the #2-ranked team in the NAIA in the latest poll released on September 6th. After opening their season with four wins, MACU settled for a 2-2 tie against #15 MidAmerica Nazarene on Labor Day. Each of their first five games were played against ranked teams or those receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' Poll. Three players (Charlie Betts, Koby Godbolt, and Jack Price) have two goals apiece on the year. Neil Hilton is in his first year as head coach, though not his first with MACU, as he was an assistant coach the past two seasons.

Oklahoma City University
The Oklahoma City University Stars (3-1-1) will play their first of five consecutive home games against Randall University on Thursday prior to their matchup with ACU. Besides a lopsided 4-0 loss to Southwestern (KS), OCU has demonstrated strength on the offensive side of the ball with 12 goals in five showings. David Imbert leads the Stars in both goals (3) and assists (3). Billy Martin continues his long partnership with OCU, as he was an assistant coach for 19 years before taking over as head coach in 2020.


Roll Storm! 
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Players Mentioned

Tiago Soares

#9 Tiago Soares

D
6' 2"
Junior
Cristhian Flores

#26 Cristhian Flores

5' 6"
Sophomore
Carlos Gallardo

#28 Carlos Gallardo

GK
5' 7"
Junior
Marlon Arce

#7 Marlon Arce

MF
6' 0"
Junior
Jose Garcia

#19 Jose Garcia

MF
5' 4"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Tiago Soares

#9 Tiago Soares

6' 2"
Junior
D
Cristhian Flores

#26 Cristhian Flores

5' 6"
Sophomore
Carlos Gallardo

#28 Carlos Gallardo

5' 7"
Junior
GK
Marlon Arce

#7 Marlon Arce

6' 0"
Junior
MF
Jose Garcia

#19 Jose Garcia

5' 4"
Freshman
MF