For more information on the 2014 NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championship Opening Round and final site, click here.
Fourteen of the top 16 seeds will continue their seasons in Orange Beach, including defending national champion Concordia (Ore.) and top seed Embry-Riddle (Fla.). Since host sites began for the Opening Round in 2008, the Cavaliers are a perfect 7-0-0 when hosting the first match by virtue of defeating Menlo (Calif.) 3-0 on Saturday. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) joins the Cavaliers as the only other school in the field to host and win every contest of the Opening Round. The Blue Raiders blanked Columbia (Mo.) 4-0. Martin Methodist (Tenn.) is next at 6-1-0 after beating Oklahoma Baptist 1-0.
Overall, Opening Round hosts were 13-1-1 on the day and played suffocating defense by recording a combined 12 shutouts. The host schools had a scoring margin of 44-2.
Concordia (17-1-2) takes on Cal State San Marcos (11-2-5) in the fourth and final game on Monday at 6:30 p.m. CST. Top-ranked Embry-Riddle (17-1-0) is fresh off a 5-1 defeat of Reinhardt (Ga.) (15-4-2) on Nov. 22 – and lines up against Hastings (Neb.) at 1:30 p.m. CST – shortly following the conclusion of the Benedictine contest with Spring Arbor.
The Eagles have won 12-consecutive contests since falling 2-1 to then-No. 9 William Carey (Miss.) on Sept. 12. Embry-Riddle finished 2014 with a perfect TSC record (9-0-0), and has shutout five opponents in its last seven tilts.
Five of this year’s qualifiers have made double-digit national championship appearances, led by Westmont (Calif.) with 17. Lindsey Wilson is second with 16 trips to the event, while Concordia (Ore.) is third with 14. Embry-Riddle and Martin Methodist (Tenn.) have 11 all-time appearances each.
Lindsey Wilson (14-3-3) faces off with Final Site host Mobile (Ala.) (15-2-3) on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. CST. Mobile was the only school to receive a bye during the Opening Round.
Fifth-seeded Northwestern Ohio (19-1-1) and Benedictine earned their respective program’s first-ever win at the national championship. The Racers – making their inaugural Opening Round match appearance – downed William Woods, 4-0, while the Ravens knocked off Concordia (Neb.), 4-0.
Northwestern Ohio goalkeeper Nadine Stonjek has been dominant at protecting the net this season. The Hamm, Germany, native has only allowed six goals in 21 matches this season, with 18 shutouts – which leads the NAIA. The 18 blankings for Stonjek ranks second all-time in shutouts in a single season - one away from the NAIA record.
Hastings and Cal State San Marcos were the only unseeded teams to advance today. Hastings upended No. 16 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) (16-4-1) 1-0, while Cal State San Marcos advanced on penalty kicks, 4-3 over No. 13 Vanguard (Calif.) (16-4-1).
2013 runner-up Westmont leads all schools in the competition with five national championship banners. Lindsey Wilson – the 2012 national champion – is second with three titles and Martin Methodist (Tenn.) owns a pair of championships. Mobile joins Concordia as teams in the field with one crown apiece.
The Southern States Athletic Conference and Golden State Athletic Conference both have three programs advance Orange Beach.
NAIANetwork.com, the NAIA’s official video-streaming home, will broadcast all 15 matches live at the 2014 Women’s Soccer National Championship final site in Orange Beach. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, will include live statistics, social media interaction and be available on mobile-friendly devices. Single-championship packages can be purchased for $20, while an all-season pass (up to 17 championships during the 2014-15 season) is available for $75. For more information and to pre-register, click here.