2017 NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championship Final Site Day One Recap

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – Day One comes to a close atthe 34th annual NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championship from the Orange Beach SportsPlex in Orange Beach, Ala. The championship runs through Saturday, Dec. 2 with the national championship final scheduled for 3 p.m. CST. The Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Sports Commission hosts the event for the sixth-straight year. 

Day One Scores

• No. 1 Martin Methodist (Tenn.) tied No. 16 Marian (Ind.), 2-2 (2 OT)
  • Martin Methodist advances on penalty kicks by 4-2 score
• No. 12 Southeastern (Fla.) def. No. 5 Vanguard (Calif.), 1-0
• No. 4 William Carey (Miss.) def. No. 13 Oklahoma Wesleyan, 4-0
• No. 9 Benedictine (Kan.) def. No. 8 Mobile (Ala.), 1-0
• For complete schedule, box scores and bracket, CLICK HERE.

Day One Highlights

• No. 1 seed Martin Methodist (Tenn.) punched its eighth overall quarterfinal ticket after advancing by penalty kicks against Marian (Ind.). After a 2-2 draw in double overtime, the RedHawks found the net in their first four penalty kicks and held a 4-2 overall advantage. Martin Methodist has now advanced to the quarterfinal round in three of the last four years.
• Southeastern (Fla.) is playing in its first-ever national championship and now holds a 4-0 scoring advantage in its two postseason wins. The Fire defeated Vanguard (Calif.) by a 1-0 count today. The Lion loss snapped a 16-match unbeaten streak.
• After the 4-0 shutout of Oklahoma Wesleyan this afternoon, William Carey (Miss.) advances to its third all-time quarterfinal and its first since 2010. The Lady Crusaders had two players – Savanah Carter and Silvia Leonessi – collect a pair of goals.
• Benedictine (Kan.) claimed a 1-0 upset over host institution University of Mobile (Ala.) in the final match. Benedictine goalkeeper Ellen Loughman finished with six saves in the shutout. On Wednesday, the Ravens will be appearing in their fourth quarterfinal in as many years.
• The Ravens now have defeated Mobile in the national championship in each of the last three tournaments.
• Oklahoma Wesleyan had held the longest unbeaten season streak of this year’s field with a 19-game undefeated streak (18-0-1). The Eagles were eliminated today against William Carey.
• The Southern States Athletic Conference, tied for the most conference representatives with three teams, went 2-1 today. Martin Methodist and William Carey were on the winning side in their matches, while Mobile was eliminated.
• The higher seeds went 1-2-1 today, with the losses going to No. 5 seed Vanguard and No. 8 seed Mobile.
• A rarity occurred in the first two matches of the day. Martin Methodist (Tenn.) got on the board 1:21 into the first match, while Southeastern’s (Fla.) lone goal was scored just 54 seconds elapsed.
• Currently, Spring Arbor (Mich.) (14 matches) holds the longest season win streak, followed by Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) at 13 matches.

Up Next:

• Day Two kicks off Tuesday with defending national runner-up No. 2 Spring Arbor (Mich.) matching up with No. 15 Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) at 11 a.m. CST.