Rocky Mountain Bows Out of NAIA Men's Soccer Championships
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – (Bracket) Top seed Rio Grande (Ohio), No. 4 Missouri Valley, No. 10 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) and Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) won their quarterfinal matches in the 57th annual NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship today at the Seacrest Soccer Complex.
Semifinal matches will play out on Friday at 4 and 6:30 p.m. EST. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission and Keiser University (Fla.) serve as co-hosts for the second-straight year.
For more information on the 2015 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship final site, click here.
Quarterfinal Match Recaps:
- No. 4 Missouri Valley (20-2-1) def. No. 12 Rocky Mountain (Mont.) (17-3-4), 3-0 | Box Score
Missouri Valley won a physical affair, 3-0, in very wet conditions against Rocky Mountain (Mont.). There were a combined 49 fouls whistled in a contest that had two lightning stoppages. Juan Carlos Heras found the back of the net in the 25th minute for the game-winner. In the 68th minute, Slaven Baskalo handed the Vikings a 2-0 edge. Raul Beneit capped off the scoring, with his marker coming in the 77th minute. Beneit and Carlos Heras are now tied for the team lead with 15 goals. With two saves tonight, Missouri Valley goalkeeper Albert Balsells has now posted a shutout in six of his last eight starts. The Vikings qualify for their first-ever semifinal in their sixth championship trip. Missouri Valley heads into Friday’s semifinals on a 17-match unbeaten streak (16-0-1).
- No. 1 Rio Grande (Ohio) (21-1) def. Indiana Wesleyan (16-6-1), 3-0 | Box Score
Luiz Filho got the scoring started – his second in as many tournament games – and Rio Grande (Ohio) rode three first-half goals to a shutout win over Indiana Wesleyan. The top seeded RedStorm entered the match No. 4 in the NAIA in scoring with over four goals per contest. Filho’s marker came just :36 seconds into the contest on Rio Grande’s first touch. Eduardo Zurita (in 16th minute) and Heitor de Melo (in 31st minute) tacked on goals for the RedStorm to give the club a 3-0 halftime lead. Goaltender Benjamin Martinez and the RedStorm defense finished the effort in the second half shutting down the Indiana Wesleyan offense. In three championship matches this year (including Opening Round), Rio Grande owns a 9-1 scoring advantage. The RedStorm will be competing in their first semifinal, and first since 2009.
- No. 10 MIdAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) (17-5-1) def. No. 2 Davenport (Mich.) (16-3-3) | Box Score
Eduardo Heringer collected his first game-winner of the year, coming in the 84th minute, to send MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) to a 1-0 shutout over defending national champion Davenport (Mich.). The marker was Heringer’s first in seven matches. The night belonged to the Pioneer defense, which allowed just two shots on goal. They were matched up against a Davenport offense that had been shut out just twice in the previous 21 matches. MidAmerica Nazarene qualifies for its second-ever semifinal, with the only prior one coming in 2012 in a 2-1 loss to Mobile (Ala.).
- Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) (17-7) def. No. 14 Columbia (Mo.) (19-4), 2-1| Box Score
Oriol Morego is getting used to game-winners. The sophomore forward notched his third-straight clincher, this time in the 67th minute, to lift Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) to a 2-1 victory over conference rival Columbia (Mo.). In addition to his heroics, Morego has now posted four goals in three championship games (including Opening Round). The Lynx and Cougars previously met twice during the regular season in American Midwest Conference action and each team won by a single goal. Tonight, Morego’s first goal – in the 39th minute – answered a quick strike off the foot of Columbia’s Vadim Cojocov in the 2nd minute. Both teams played to a stalemate until Morego weaved through two defenders on the side of the box and snuck the ball in the lower left hand corner of the net. The Lynx head to their first-ever semifinal on Friday.
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.
National Championship Quarterfinals Notes (Dec. 2)
- Since a loss to Union (Ky.) on Oct. 3, Rio Grande (Ohio) has outscored its opponents 43-5 during a 10-match win streak.
- The Heart of America Athletic Conference sends two programs to the semifinals: MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) and Missouri Valley.
- Rio Grande is the lone semifinalist this year that has won a previous national championship (2003).
-- Three teams from the Midwest will be playing on Friday in the semifinals: Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.), MidAmerica Nazarene and Missouri Valley.
- Lindenwood-Belleville and Missouri Valley both will be appearing in their first ever semifinal.
-The team to score first has gone 8-2 through the quarterfinals – this excludes two games decided by penalty kicks.
- Eight of the 12 championship matches this year have been decided by one team recording a shutout.
- Semifinal records all-time by team:
-- Lindenwood-Belleville: 0-0
-- MidAmerica Nazarene: 0-1
-- Missouri Valley: 0-0
-- Rio Grande: 2-1-1