OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA – The Cinderella story was not meant to be this year for the 8-seeded Central Christian as #1-seeded MACU wins 3-0.

Tigers had an uphill battle as MACU was undefeated on the year and #3 in the NAIA.

To begin the game the Evangels attacked early and often with 3 attempts within the first 10 minutes, before the 11:15 minute mark when MACU scored the ice breaker to go up early 1-0.

Evangels kept the pressure up shooting another 7 times, including 3 on goal, but Sebastian Herrera was able to keep the score 1-0 thru 45 minutes.

Although Tigers didn't have much offense to account for they were still only a goal away from tying the game. For about 35 minutes of the 2^nd half this would remain true until the Evangels took advantage of the Tiger's aggressive play and netted their 2^nd goal of the game, 2-0. 4 minutes later the Evangels sealed their win with another goal putting the Evangels up 3-0 with only 5:27 left.

Evangels out shot the Tigers 24-0 and 11-0 shots on goal. Sebastian Herrera had a busy day in goal and saved 8 shots on the night.

UP NEXT

Tigers will prepare for NCCAA Regionals on Nov. 16^th.

CENTRAL CHRISTIAN QUOTES

Head Coach Aaron Hoxie

"Real proud of the guys effort tonight. We made it very difficult for them to play against. It was a tactical battle. We did us and they did them."

"Our goal was to be within 1 goal with 15 mins left to play because we thought this would give us the best chance to win the game. At that point we opened up, tried to commit numbers forward, and press them high up. The danger being that the open space would suit their game more, and it did to the tune of two goals. It wasn't a 3-0 game, the score line is deceiving. But in our view, there's no difference in losing 1-0 or 7-0 in a tournament elimination game. We had to open up the lines."

"The early goal was the deal breaker. It gave them confidence and allowed them to settle into things. We were OK but we weren't able to be clinical when a final pass or touch was required. The quality simply wasn't there today. If we were 0-0 at half, I believe the pressure would have gotten to them, and things could have been different. But it wasn't meant to be this year."

"We've got the NCCAA regionals coming up in a few weeks and we've got to get healthy. Got loads of kids on minutes restrictions and another player who hasn't been able to play the last few weeks.  So, it's time to heal and refocus."