KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Bracket – Live Stats – Schedule) The 58th annual NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship Opening Round will see 30 teams participate in 15 matches at campus locations on Saturday, November 19. The 15 Opening Round champions, along with tournament host Keiser (Fla.), will advance to the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship final site taking place Nov. 28-Dec. 3 at the Seacrest Soccer Complex in Delray Beach, Fla.
The 15 Opening Round hosts include: Baker (Kan.), Bryan (Tenn.), Campbellsville (Ky.), Corban (Ore.), Davenport (Mich.), Hastings (Neb.), Marymount (Calif.), MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), Northwestern Ohio, Oklahoma Wesleyan, Rio Grande (Ohio), Thomas (Ga.), Union (Ky.), William Carey (Miss.) and WVU Tech (W.Va.). Nine 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 78-28-17 (.781) record. The 2015 Opening Round hosts went 10-3-3 last season.
Hastings (20-0-0) claimed the top seed in the tournament for the second time, grabbing the top spot in 2011 after winning the 2010 NAIA National Championship. The Broncos are making their 12th all-time appearance in the championship after having a streak of seven-straight appearances snapped last season when the team did not qualify for the championship. Hastings hosts Friends (Kan.), which makes its first-ever appearance in the field.
Defending national champion Rio Grande (18-1-1) is searching to become the first program to repeat as national champion since Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) did so in 2000-01. The RedStorm are making their tournament-best 17th appearance and are the only program to host an Opening Round contest in each season of the format. Rio Grande squares off with St. Thomas (Fla.) in its Opening Round contest.
In addition to Friends, there are three other rookies to the 2016 Opening Round: LSU Alexandria (La.), Purdue Northwest (Ind.) and Wayland Baptist (Texas).
Both Rio Grande and Hastings are among the four teams to have made at least 10 appearances all-time in the championship. Rio Grande leads this year’s field, making its 16th trip, while Hastings is appearing for the 12th time. Grand View (Iowa) is part of the championship for the 11th time, while William Carey (Miss.) joins the double-digit group in its 10th selection this season.
Campbellsville (15-0-3) brings a 34-match unbeaten streak into its opening round matchup with Grand View, a 29-0-5 mark that dates back to September of 2015. The unbeaten streak is the fourth-longest in NAIA history – the next longest belonging to Hastings at 41 during the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons.
Two of the top three national goal scorers will look to add to their totals on Saturday. Daniel Whitehall of Hastings leads the NAIA with 31 goals and has scored at least once in seven-straight matches. Ali Sodal of Midland (Neb.) shares third place in goals with 23, having scored a hat trick in two of his last three contests. Tyler Collishaw of Davenport is the top assist man headed into the championship with 15, good for third in the current leaders. On the defensive end, Luka Stojanvoic of Oklahoma Wesleyan brings a NAIA-best 0.32 goals against average into the Eagles’ matchup with LSU Alexandria.
This year’s opening round field includes 24 automatic qualifiers, six at-large selections and a host berth. 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 installment of the Modified Ratings Percentage Index (MRPI) announced Monday. The MRPI can be found HERE. All win/loss/tie records for NAIA schools are through regular season games played.
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 for $29.95. For more information and to pre-register, click HERE.
Opening Round Schedule
Saturday, Nov. 19 | Campus Sites
Match 1 – Friends (Kan.) (6-14-1) at No. 1 Hastings (Neb.) (20-0-0)
Match 2 – Rocky Mountain (Mont.) (13-4-2) at No. 16 Marymount California (16-2-1)
Match 3 – Wayland Baptist (Texas) (14-3-3) at No. 9 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) (15-3-1)
Match 4 – Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) (16-3-2) at No. 8 WVU Tech (W.Va.) (16-2-2)
Match 5 – Grand View (Iowa) (13-6-2) at No. 12 Campbellsville (Ky.) (15-0-3)
Match 6 – Georgia Gwinnett (13-3-3) at No. 13 Thomas (Ga.) (14-3-2)
Match 7 – Columbia (Mo.) (12-6-2) at No. 4 Northwestern Ohio (17-1-3)
Match 8 – St. Thomas (Fla.) (9-6-2) at No. 2 Rio Grande (Ohio) (18-1-1)
Match 9 – Menlo (Calif.) (15-4-1) at No. 15 Corban (Ore.) (19-2-0)
Match 10 – Spring Arbor (Mich.) (14-3-4) at No. 10 Bryan (Tenn.) (16-2-3)
Match 11 – Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) (12-4-3) at No. 7 Union (Ky.) (18-2-1)
Match 12 – Purdue Northwest (Ind.) (11-5-4) at No. 6 Davenport (Mich.) (17-2-2)
Match 13 – Midland (Neb.) (16-3-1) at No. 11 Baker (Kan.) (13-4-2)
Match 14 – John Brown (Ark.) (13-3-2) at No. 14 William Carey (Miss.) (15-2-1)
Match 15 – LSU Alexandria (La.) (11-8-1) at No. 3 Oklahoma Wesleyan (18-1-1)
For more information on the 2016 NAIA¬ Men’s Soccer National Championship Opening Round and final site, click here.
^ Record taken from school’s DakStats page
* Championship information includes 2016 event