By Chad Waller, Director of Communications & Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — (Bracket | Live Stats |Schedule) The 57th annual NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship Opening Round will see 32 teams participate in 16 matches at campus locations Saturday. The 16 Opening Round champions will advance to the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship final site taking place Nov. 30 – Dec. 5 at the Seacrest Soccer Complex in Delray Beach, Fla.
The 16 Opening Round hosts include: Baker (Kan.), Campbellsville (Ky.), Columbia (Mo.), Corban (Ore.), Cumberland (Tenn.), Davenport (Mich.), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), Missouri Valley, Northwestern Ohio, Oklahoma Wesleyan, Rio Grande (Ohio), Rocky Mountain (Mont.), Science & Arts (Okla.), Union (Ky.) and Vanguard (Calif.). Six of these programs hosted an Opening Round match last season.
Since the Opening Round format was established in 2008, the Opening Round hosts hold a 68-25-14 (.701) record. The 2014 Opening Round hosts went 7-5-3 last season.
For the second-straight year and third overall time since 2010, Rio Grande carries the top seed into the Opening Round. The RedStorm, who hold an 18-1 record, is only one-of-two teams in NAIA history to host each year of the opening rounds, since the format began in 2008. They have posted a 19-6 scoring advantage in the seven previous opening round contests – all of those game resulting in a Rio Grande victory. Rio Grande welcomes Bethel (Tenn.) (10-6-1) Saturday to Evan E. Davis Field.
No. 8 Lindsey Wilson (14-5-1) is the other program to host all seven previous Opening Rounds. The Blue Raiders boast the most NAIA postseason wins (51), most consecutive appearances (22), are tied for the most appearances (23) and rank second in national championship trophies (9). Saturday, Lindsey Wilson will look to improve upon a 5-1-1 Opening Round record by hosting Indiana Wesleyan (15-5) at 5:30 p.m. CST.
Defending national champion Davenport (15-2-2) is searching to become the first repeat titlist since Lindsey Wilson did so in 2000-01. The Panthers are making their fourth overall championship, third-straight, and carry a 4-2-1 record at the event. In Grand Rapids, Mich., Davenport hosts newcomer Purdue Calumet (Ind.) (12-4-2) on Saturday.
In addition to Purdue Calumet, there are nine other rookies to the 2015 opening round: Campbellsville, Concordia (Neb.), Cumberland, Lyon (Ark.), Roosevelt (Ill.), Southeastern (Fla.), Union, Wiley (Texas) and WVU Tech (W.Va.).
Tied for the most overall wins on the year (19), Science & Arts owns the longest active win streak at 15-straight matches. The Drovers, who are appearing in their seventh-straight championship, have not lost since Sept. 16 in 2-0 setback to Tabor (Kan.). Oklahoma Wesleyan, the other club with 19 victories, is riding a 13-match win streak into Saturday.
Five of the top 10 national goal scorers will be in action on Saturday. Lindsey Wilson’s Aleksi Pahkasalo is the highest goal-scorer amongst the active group and ranks No. 2 in the NAIA with 24 goals, three behind the leader. Liam Madden of Science & Arts and Quamie Dinnall of Corban are tied for the NAIA assists lead with 18 total. Defensively, goalkeeper Jordan Farr of Corban is tops in the NAIA with a 0.38 goals against average – he has allowed just seven goals in 19 games.
Four conferences – American Midwest Conference, Cascade Collegiate Conference, Heart of America Athletic Conference and the Mid-South Conference – land the most representatives in the 32-team field with three programs each.
This year’s field includes 24 automatic qualifiers and eight at-large selections. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title, regular-season championship or finished runner-up during the regular season or at the conference tournament. The at-large bids were determined by the final Modified Ratings Percentage Index (MRPI) announced Monday.
The NAIA Network – the association’s official video streaming home – will broadcast all 15 matches live at the 2015 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship final site in Delray Beach, Fla. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, allows users access to live video, statistics, and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-championship package is available at $29.95. For more information and the pre-register, click here.
2015 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship Opening Round Pairings
Saturday, Nov. 21 | Campus Sites | All Times Local
Match 1 Bethel (Tenn.) (10-6-1) at No. 1 Rio Grande (Ohio) (18-1), Noon
Match 2 Lyon (Ark.) (13-3-1) at No. 16 Union (Ky.) (16-1-4), 1:30 p.m.
Match 3 Southeastern (Fla.) (15-4) at No. 9 Cumberland (Tenn.) (19-1), Noon
Match 4 Indiana Wesleyan (15-5) at No. 8 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (14-5-1), 5:30 p.m.
Match 5 Concordia (Neb.) (11-6-3) at No. 5 Oklahoma Wesleyan (19-1), 2 p.m.
Match 6 Marymount California (15-3-1) at No. 12 Rocky Mountain (Mont.) (16-2-2), 1 p.m.
Match 7 Biola (Calif.) (14-4-1) at No. 13 Corban (Ore.) (17-2-1), 7:30 p.m.
Match 8 Mount Mercy (Iowa) (15-4-1) at No. 4 Missouri Valley (17-2-1), 1 p.m.
Match 9 Purdue Calumet (Ind.) (12-4-2) at No. 2 Davenport (Mich.) (15-2-2), 1 p.m.
Match 10 WVU Tech (W.Va.) (15-2) at No. 15 Campbellsville (Ky.) (17-3), 7 p.m.
Match 11 Roosevelt (Ill.) (16-3-2) at No. 10 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) (14-5-1), 1 p.m.
Match 12 Great Falls (Mont.) (13-5-1) at No. 7 Vanguard (Calif.) (15-4), 2 p.m.
Match 13 Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) (14-7) at No. 6 Northwestern Ohio (16-4), 2 p.m.
Match 14 Bellevue (Neb.) (11-3-4) at No. 11 Science & Arts (Okla.) (19-2), 6 p.m.
Match 15 Ashford (Iowa) (11-5-2) at No. 14 Columbia (Mo.) (17-3), 5 p.m.
Match 16 Wiley (Texas) (8-5-1) at No. 3 Baker (Kan.) (17-3-1), 8 p.m.