NAIA Men's Soccer Final Site Preview
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Final Site Schedule | Bracket] The 2020 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship Final Site field has been set as play is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, May 4. The 10-team NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship Final Site will be a single elimination, 10-team tournament, which will culminate with the NAIA National Championship match on Monday, May 10 at 7:00 p.m. EST.
This season, 40 teams played for the opportunity to head to Columbia County, Ga. In the end, four of the 10 opening round hosts advanced as four upsets occurred. Cumberlands (Ky.) was the only No. 2-seed to advance that was not a host seeing its first postseason appearance in history. In addition, St. Thomas (Fla.) advanced to the Final Site from a No. 4-seed. The Bobcats were unranked most of the season and were able to fight to the finish and see post-season play. Mid-America Christian and (Okla.) and Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) both found their way out of No. 3 seeds to make it to Blanchard Woods Park in Columbia County.
The NAIA Network – the association’s official video streaming home – will broadcast all nine matches live at the 2020 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship final site in Columbia County, Ga. 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 tournament package is available at $29.95. For more information and to pre-register, click HERE.
Qualifier Highlights
- Five of the 10 qualifiers for the 2020 final site were also there a season ago - Central Methodist (Mo.), Columbia (Mo.), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Missouri Valley, and Oklahoma Wesleyan.
- The Heart of America, the Mid-South, and The Sun lead all leagues with two qualifiers in the final site field.
- Central Methodist (Mo.) has won the last two championship titles (2018, 2019)
- Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) holds a 55-16-6 record of All-Time Participation, with nine championship wins and five third-place finishes. The last championship win occurred in 2011.
- Six of the 10 qualifiers ranked in the NAIA Final MRPI Ratings – Columbia (Mo.), Central Methodist (Mo.), Oklahoma Wesleyan, Missouri Valley, Keiser (Fla.), Bellevue (Neb.)
- Central Methodist (Mo.) has been ranked No. 1 in the four Top 25 polls this season, as well as No. 1 in all four Heart of America conference polls
- Oklahoma Wesleyan ranks in eight categories with five first-place rankings in Total Assists (87), Total Goals (104), Assists per Game (3.950), Goals per Game (4.730), and Shots on Goal per game (11.730)
- 2019 National Player of the Year, Stefan Lukic ranks No. 1 in Total Assists (25) and Assists per Game (1.250)
- Stefan Cvetanovic ranks No. 1 in Total Goals with 33 and Total Points
- Central Methodist (Mo.) ranks second in Total Shutouts with 11
- Keiser (Fla.) ranks second in Goals per Game (3.780)
- Adrian Camacho Castro ranks No. 8 in Total Points with 40
- Rodrigo Albuquerque (Mid-America Christian (Okla.)) ranks No. 1 in Total Game Winning Goals (10) and No. 3 in Game Winning Goals per Game (0.480) and Shots per Game (5.190).