OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – McMurry University men's soccer saw its first winning season since 2004 come to an end, falling by a 2-0 score to host Mid-America Christian University (MACU) in the semi-finals of the National Christian College Athletic Association Central Regional at Evangels Field.  The War Hawks concluded 2017 at 8-6-3, while the Evangels improved to 13-5-2.
 
McM found itself behind the proverbial 8-ball early, allowing MACU to score its first goal of the day just 1:48 minutes into the match. The Evangels Caleb Roldan dribbled the ball toward the McM net, getting War Hawks' goalkeeper Alex Chavez to step up toward him. But instead of a shot attempt, Roldan laid the ball off to his right side to teammate Brad Bennions for an easy chip shot to a wide-open McM net.
 
The McMurry defense stiffened the remainder of the half and through the bulk of the second stanza.  But the War Hawks were unable to generate much offense to get back into the match.  The Evangels held a 20-2 margin in total shot attempts, 12-0 on-goal.
 
Matt Hernandez and Diego Paz had McMurry's shot attempts for the match.
 
McM was whistled for five off-sides calls. The Evangels took five corner kicks, compared to one for the War Hawks.  MACU added an insurance goal in the 84th minute for the 2-0 final score. 
 
Chavez finished his two-year McM career with 10 saves in the loss to MACU. Chavez closes his career with the War Hawks after setting school season records for shutouts (8), goals against average (0.57) and saves percentage (.885), as well as career shutout (11).
 
But perhaps most importantly for McM head coach Tyler Tarango is the fact that – of his 24-player roster – 21 are eligible to return to the fold, as he continues to guide the War Hawks program on an upward trend. Among those players are two-time all-ASC honorees Jesus Sanchez and Josh Erwin, as well as 2017 second-team All-ASC picks Rafael Lara and co-Freshman of the Year Jordan Sczech. Sczech and Lara led the War Hawks in scoring with 13 and 11 points, respectively.