KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Final Site Bracket] The 2021 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship Opening Round presented by Select Sport America has locked in the 10 programs whose dream of the Red Banner are alive and well. The 63rd Annual NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship will be played at Jack Allen Soccer Complex in Decatur, Alabama from November 30 through December 6, 2021. 

Seven of the 10 Opening Round hosts made it out of bracket play to fight another day. A pair of teams fought their way from the bottom of their respective regions as Marymount California and Ottawa (Ariz.) combined for four upsets and ended the season for both hosts in the process. Only one second seed (MidAmerica Nazarene) moves forward to Decatur, Ala.

Three teams have reached the mountain top before - Mobile (Ala.), Central Methodist (Mo.), and Missouri Valley. The Vikings and Eagles have won the last three titles, while Rams won it all back in 2002. Entering the 40 team championship, three squads came in without a loss and now only CMU remains. The final field of 10 features five teams who qualified via at-large. The only conference with multiple teams, Heart of America Athletic Conference, has a trio of clubs headed to Jack Allen Soccer Complex.

Qualifier Highlights

• Bartlesville Bracket
  • In the first half, the Lyon defense was holding the Eagles at bay until the 42^nd minute when Ognjen Stevic scored the game’s first and only goal. Despite the differences in record, this match was pretty even as both teams tallied five corner kicks. OKWU keeper Matija Gligorovic stopped both shots he faced and the team had three saves by the defense. Conversely, Scots goalie Bosco Pery rejected four shots and the team cleared out a pair. Stevic (OKWU) and Marcos Fernandez (LU) both tallied a game high three shots in the contest.  
• Bellevue Bracket
  • Bellevue (Neb.) held a large statistically advantage in shots taken (17-7), but that did not stop the Pioneers from pushing forward to victory. Rick Hovinga of MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) found the back of the net in the 21^st minute which was the lone goal of the first 45. Bellevue tied the contest at 66:13 when Oumar Sissko received the cross and scored as he was sliding. With the last 10 minutes of play just beginning, Dennis Palacios blasted a rocket from 35 yards out, proving to be the game winner. MNU keeper Enzo Carvalho saved five while his opponent AJ Jarvis faced only four chances.
• Columbia Bracket
  • As the top two teams in the bracket faced off in the finale, Nathan Durdle made his presence known. On route to a hat trick, he scored in the 26th minute, then in the 61st minute, and finally in the 85th. The first two were assisted by Carter Redford. In the match, the Cougars held the Blue Raiders to only four shots and none on target. Meanwhile, CC fired off 17 attempts and put nine of them on goal, led by Rece Gilmore with a game high four.   
• Columbia - CMU Bracket
  • The Eagles scored first as Alessandro Salvadego scored before the nine minute mark on the clock. While the score did not change for the remainder of the half, the Red Storm were not done fighting. Gabriel Silva tied the game for URG and then almost five minutes later CMU had an own goal. As the tides had turned in favor of the Red Storm, the Eagles get pressing and got the equalizer in the 72nd minute. The top team in the country was not done as Tom Irion broke the tie in the 77th minute and booked CMU a ticket to the Final Site. The teams combined for 25 shots, 16 on goal, and the keepers made nine saves.  
• Costa Mesa Bracket
  • The first and only game of the day to go to double-overtime, it was a match of endurance. Vanguard, the bracket hosts, lit up the scoreboard first on a Nathaniel Gomez goal. Just before the intermission, Leonel Perez found the equalizer for the Mariners. Over the next 63 minutes, the defense and goalies controlled the match. In all, Michael Dairo (MCU) and James Choi (VU) totaled 16 saves on 19 shots faced. Just 3:17 into the final OT period, Cade Flanagan ended the game and keep the Cinderella story going for California Marymount.
• Fort Wayne Bracket
  • The hosting Warriors attacked early and often with a berth to Alabama on the line. Luke Jones scored the game winner just six minutes into the game as Indiana Tech fired off seven shots in the first frame. After giving the helper on the first goal, Maxwell Amoako gave the team some insurance by scoring in the 70^th minute. Statesmen keeper Harry Nash, as well as Warrior keeper Jaume Salvado, tallied three saves.
• Marshall Bracket
  • Scoring started and ended with Mike Moser; He found the back of the net in the 36^th minute and again in the 75^th minutes – both unassisted. Missouri Valley held a 13-5 margin in shots and 7-2 shots on goal. The Vikings also held the edge in corner kicks taken 6-1. Finn Popescu, the Pilots keeper, recorded five saves in fulltime.
• Miami Gardens Bracket
  • The Bobcats did not wait long to take control of the match as Felipe Madero gave STU the lead in the 14^th minute. After assisting on the first goal, Fernando Arzeno had his time to shot scoring at the 36:35 mark to put the home team up 2-0. Exiting halftime trailing, the Spirit were facing an uphill climb. Within a span of 28 seconds, OUAZ had hit the equalizer in the match. Tom Cohen scored at 50:44 and Tonny Temple followed it up with a toe poke in the box. Cohen, who already had a goal and an assist in the contest, scored the golden goal in the 97^th minute. Despite the loss, St. Thomas outshot their opponent 17-5.
• Mobile Bracket
  • The Mobile Rams scored early and often, sinking their first goal just 130 seconds into the game. They added goals in the 40^th and 55^th minutes. Each goal scorer and assister were different players, showing the balance and depth of UM’s squad. Despite the sizable difference on the scoreboard, the match was closer in reality. Mobile only had a 13-9 edge in shots taken but both clubs had five shots on goal. They tied in fouls (16) and offsides (3) while Columbia International drew three more corners than the opposition. Mobile scored a trio of goals in both Opening Round games with Antoine Bedos pitching shutouts in both.
• West Palm Beach Bracket
  • The tale of this match was how different each of the halves were. The first 45 minutes of play saw Dalton State hold a 6-1 edge in shots taken and Seahawks keeper Dario Salzer was busy stopping three shots. After the intermission, Keiser took control of the match by scoring in the 2rd, 81st, and 89th minutes. Lucas Jacobs takes the honor of the game winning goal, but Hannu Tam recorded a brace in exactly eight minutes of game play.  

This year’s opening round field included 27 automatic qualifiers and 13 at-large. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title, regular-season championship, finished runner-up at the conference tournament or were awarded the conference automatic berth in the absence of a conference tournament. The at-large bids were determined by the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Selection Committee. This committee consists of one representative from each geographical area, a representative from the National Administrative Council, the president of the NAIA-Men’s Soccer Coaches Association, and four at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.

• To view the NAIA Championship Final Site Schedule, click HERE.
• For a full look at all of the Opening Round tournaments and matchups, click HERE.

The NAIA Network – the association’s official video streaming home – will broadcast all eight matches live at the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship final site in Decatur, Ala. with the championship game being shown on ESPN3. 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 $34.95. For more information and to pre-register, click HERE.