Warner Pacific, Concordia Head to NAIA Region I Championships
PORTLAND, Ore. – Cascade Conference regular season men’s soccer champ Concordia and runner-up Warner Pacific head to the NAIA Region I Championships this weekend seeking an automatic berth in the NAIA’s national tournament, which begins Nov. 14.
The four-team Region I Championships, hosted by Concordia, will be contested at Doc Harris Stadium at Camas (Wash.) High School on Friday and Saturday. In Friday’s opening-round games, the region’s top seed, Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, B.C.), will take on fourth-seeded Warner Pacific at 6 p.m. Second-seeded Concordia will take on third-seeded Westminster (Salt Lake City) at 8:30 p.m. The two winners will meet Saturday at 6 p.m., also at Doc Harris Stadium, for the region title.
Simon Fraser will enter the tournament after finishing the season with a 13-1-1 mark, good for a No. 7 ranking in the final regular-season NAIA poll. With six straight wins to close the season to capture its sixth straight conference crown, Concordia moved into the top-25 poll with 55 votes to land at a tie for No. 23 in the nation. Westminster finished the season at 14-4-0 while Warner Pacific concluded its regular-season slate at 11-6-0.
In its second match of the season, Simon Fraser defeated Concordia 2-0 while the Cavs split with Warner Pacific. Concordia dropped the Knights 3-0 on Sept. 7, but lost a 4-3 match on Oct. 6 for the team’s sole loss in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. In the only other previous meeting between the squads, Simon Fraser defeated Warner Pacific 1-0 in a home match on Sept. 29.
The 20-team NAIA national men's soccer championships, featuring 14 regional champions and five to six at-large berths, are scheduled for Nov.14-20 in Olathe, Kan.
Tickets for the Region I Championships are $5 for adults and $3 for seniors and students.
Region I Schedule
Friday, Nov. 2
6:00 p.m. -- #1 Simon Fraser vs. #4 Warner Pacific
8:30 p.m. -- #2 Concordia vs. #3 Westminster
Saturday, Nov. 3
6:00 p.m. – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2