DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – (Bracket | Media Guide) The first day of the 59th annual NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship has come to a close from Delray Beach, Fla. The championship will run through Saturday, December 2 with the national championship final match set for 6 p.m. EST. This is the fourth-straight year in which the championship has been co-hosted by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission and Keiser University (Fla.).
Day One Scores
- Wayland Baptist (Texas) def. Cardinal Stritch (Wis.), 3-2
- No. 12 Columbia (Mo.) def. No. 5 Baker (Kan.), 1-0
- No. 8 Georgia Gwinnett def. No. 9 Vanguard (Calif.), 2-1
- No. 1 Oklahoma Wesleyan def. No. 16 Keiser (Fla.), 3-0
Day One Highlights
- Federico Ucar scored two goals to give the Pioneers of Wayland Baptist an early lead over Cardinal Stritch.
- Luke McVeigh scored a late goal for Cardinal Stritch coming off Jack Hart’s second assist of the day, but Wayland Baptist held the score at 3-2 to earn the victory.
- Wayland Baptist, the lone unseeded team to win on the day, advances to the quarterfinals for the first time in program history. Prior to 2017, the Pioneers were winless in the national championship.
- Baker’s Alberto Ciroi recorded five saves from a flurry of 19 shots from Columbia.
- Aaron Noel scored the lone goal in the match in the 53rd minute, with an assist from Pere Servera.
- The Cougars are now 2-0 against Baker in the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship, defeating the Wildcats in the second round in 2015.
- Jack Gurr of Georgia Gwinnett had two assists on goals from Toni Tiente and Ellis Husband to help the Grizzlies advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in program history.
- Despite taking 16 shots to Georgia Gwinnett’s nine, Vanguard only managed one goal which came from a Nathan Miramontes header in the first half.
- Overall No. 1 seed Oklahoma Wesleyan defeated the host team Keiser, 3-0, behind goals from Alberto Picchi, Stefan Milicevic and Alex Lozano.
- Both Keiser’s Nicolas Gomez and Oklahoma Wesleyan’s Dusan Djordjev notched 3 saves in the match.
- Both Keiser’s Nicolas Gomez and Oklahoma Wesleyan’s Dusan Djordjev notched 3 saves in the match.
Up Next:
- Day Two kicks-off Tuesday when No. 2 William Carey (Miss.) squares off with defending national champion No. 15 Hastings (Neb.) at 11:00 a.m. EST.
