Skip To Main Content

Evangel University of the Assemblies of God

MSOC Recap 8-21
8
Winner Evangel (MO) EVANGEL (0-0)
1
Ozark Christian College OZARK CH (0-0)
Winner
Evangel (MO) EVANGEL
(0-0)
8
Final
1
Ozark Christian College OZARK CH
(0-0)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Evangel (MO) EVANGEL 4 4 8
Ozark Christian College OZARK CH 1 0 1

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Issac Granado

Kuchta's Hat Trick Fuels Valor Men's Soccer to 8-1 Victory

The Basics

Score: Evangel 8, Ozark Christian 1 | Box Score

Record: Evangel (1-0-0)

Location: Joplin, Mo. (Ambassador Field)

JOPLIN, Mo. – Valor Men's Soccer opened their 2025 campaign on Thursday (Aug. 21) evening, taking on the Ambassadors of Ozark Christian. Looking to open the season on the right foot, the Valor offense put forth a strong performance, scoring eight goals with a hat trick coming from Caleb Kuchta to cruise to a 8-1 victory.

Both Evangel and Ozark Christian played a scoreless first 10 minutes of play before junior transfer Jaeden Carter put the Valor ahead, 1-0, on a pass from Finn Schlauch. The Ambassadors evened the score just moments later to tie the game up at 1-1. Fresh off his assist, Schlauch scored his first goal of the season on a pass from Alim Bangura to give EU the 2-1 advantage. Just eight minutes later, Andrea Fincato gave the Valor their third score of the evening, assisted by Franco Cuevas, before Caleb Kuchta closed out the first half with a goal assisted by Ruben Gonzalez.

In the first four minutes of the second half, the duo of Kuchta and Juyong Kim put a pair of goals on the board, giving Kuchta the hat trick and putting Kim just one assist shy of his third of the match. Just two minutes later, Kim earned his third assist of the game as Vasco Goncalves gave the Valor a 7-1 lead. Goncalves would assist on the final goal of the game coming from Micah Siems to solidify Evangel's 8-1 victory on Thursday.

HIGHLIGHTS

QUOTABLE

"We started really slow tonight and made a few first game mistakes. OCC took advantage of missed clearance that our of our players normally clears out easily. They jumped on a loose ball and took a fast shot while out of formation, which proved to be a sharp wake up call for us. Our team jumped right back into play and raised the level. Mistakes are going to happen, it's how you recover that shapes you," Men's Soccer Head Coach Kyle Beard stated. "Our team never looked back. Our passing and ability to possess the ball under pressure improved as the game progressed. We scored three unanswered goals to end the half. Coming out of the break, we didn't leave anything to chance and played very aggressive. Caleb Kuchta noted some positional mistakes that OCC was making and he took advantage of their high lines. He and Juyong Kim were really connecting in space to give us scoring changes. Our ability to create more scoring opportunities was the main focus for our preseason and it came together for us tonight. We are striving to continue to get a little better and a little more comfortable with every game."

For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, visit Facebook at Facebook.com/EvangelValor, X (@EvangelValor), or EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on their favorite EU teams by downloading the Evangel Athletics Gameday App through the App Store or Google Play.  

—#OneValor—
Print Friendly Version