ADA, Okla. — East Central University soccer opened its 2026 home schedule Saturday afternoon with a closely contested non-conference matchup against Mississippi Christian University at Tiger Soccer Field. The Tigers battled back from a three-goal deficit in the second half to pull within one, but the Choctaws added a late goal to secure a 4-2 victory.
ECU will hit the road Tuesday, Sept. 8, for a non-conference matchup against Northeastern State University before returning to Ada for its final non-conference match of the season against Rogers State University on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 1 p.m.
Mississippi Christian opened the scoring in the 29th minute before adding two more goals in the final three minutes of the first half to take a 3-0 advantage into the halftime break.
ECU came out of the break with a strong response, though, as
Addisyn Brown converted a penalty kick just 1:16 into the second half to put the Tigers on the board for her first goal of the season.
Less than 11 minutes later,
Estrella Hernandez cut the deficit to one with her second goal of the season, with
Kaylie Gonzalez earning the assist to make it a 3-2 contest.
The Tigers continued to battle and pressure the Choctaws, finishing the second half with seven shots. However, Mississippi Christian added an insurance goal in the 88th minute to secure the 4-2 victory.
Mississippi Christian finished with a 16-12 advantage in shots and held an 11-6 edge in shots on goal.
Emma Stewart,
Sophie Maldonado,
Ava Jordan,
Emily Cavazos,
Reece Roberson, and
Jalynne Campbell also recorded shots for the Tigers. ECU goalkeeper
Parker Frei recorded seven saves in the match.
