WICHITA, Kan. - [FINAL SITE SCHEDULE | BRACKET] The 2023 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship began with 16 teams and only two remain - Milligan (Tenn.) and MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan). The Buffaloes will be playing in the final game for the first time in program history while the Pioneers are playing in the last match for first time since 2015. 

The Battle For The Red Banner will conclude Monday, December 4th at 2:00 p.m. CT at Scheels Stryker Complex. ESPN 3 will be the exclusive home of the video broadcast.  

Milligan (Tenn.) (19-2-4) defeats No. 5 St. Thomas (Fla.) (18-2-3), 1-0

• Milligan (Tenn.) and St. Thomas (Fla.) both played in the semifinal round for the first time in program history
• The 45 minutes of action was played mostly in the midfield as offensive chances were held to a minimum; The Bobcats tallied five shot attempts and three were saved by the Milligan keeper Adria Alles, but the best scoring chance occurred at the 2:45 mark
• The matches first corner kick was drawn by STU in the 50^th minute and booted into play by Guido Cacciabue but the Buffalo defense dispatched it
• During the middle portion of the second period, it appeared as if the field shifted to favor the Bobcats, but Milligan remained stout defensively
• No side had a better chance than in the 89^th minute when STU's Angelo Bernandes slipped past the backline, but his would be game winner when high over the crossbar
• As the two teams marched towards overtime, the trend of the 1pm contest of the 2023 NAIA National Championship not being decided in regulation continues
• In the back half of the first overtime, Milligan had a pair of threatening passes into the offensive third but the gaps were quickly closed by the Bobcats
• Alex Panner had the first and only attempt during OT1 at the 97:53 march, which was blocked at the point of attack
• Within 19 seconds of the second OT period, the Bobcats put a blast on frame which was saved by Alles
• Jett Carter substituted into the game for the Buffs in the OT2 and used his fresh legs to beat the left side of the STU defense and draw the PK
• Captain Simen Haraldstad stood in front of the ball at the penalty spot attempt and went low and away for the 1-0 lead for Milligan
• Today marked the third game-winning goal for Haraldstad this season - William Carey (Miss.) and Bryan (Tenn.)
• In the loss, the Bobcats outshot the Buffs 16-5 overall and 6-2 in shots on goal; Hernando Suarez recorded a game high four shots for STU while Niklas Hoener, Evan Bjerke, Angelo Bernandes, and Guido Cacciabue all tallied multiple attempts in the match
• Alles (W, 13-1-4) put the team on his back, helping MU upset higher seeded St. Thomas with six saves across 110 minutes of play
• Milligan will play in the championship game for a first time and will face off an opponent who has been on the pitch for the final game (OKWU in 2020 and MNU in 2015)
• Monday will also be the first time a team from the Appalachian Athletic Conference plays in the Men's Soccer Championship game

No. 14 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) (16-4-4) defeats No. 7 Oklahoma Wesleyan (17-2-5), 1-0 (2OT)

• Oklahoma Wesleyan was in semifinals for the third time in program history (2017, 2020) and seeking a return to the championship game for the second time - they lost to Missouri Valley by a 2-0 score in 2020
• MidAmerica Nazarene was also playing in this round for the third time after previously playing in 2012 and 2015; the Pioneers lost 1-0 in overtime to Rio Grande (Ohio) in the 2015 final
• The lower seeded Pioneers forced the issue more in the initial 45 minutes of play, recording a 7-2 difference in shots taken including three by Jony Munoz
• But it was Oklahoma Wesleyan who had the only shot on goal, saved by MNU's Enzo Carvalho (W, 5-2-1)
• MidAmerica Nazarene led 2-0 in corner kicks and 7-5 in fouls committed during the first half 
• At 65:44 Munoz took a corner kick for the Pioneers and the OKWU defender nearly knocked the ball into his own goal as he tried to clear the ball with a header 
• With 22 minutes to go in regulation, OKWU keeper Oliver Scott (L, 6-1-2) made an excellent punch out as the cross into the box nearly fell at the feet of Munoz near the back post
• Ticking past 10 minutes left on the clock, Munoz's free kick attempt from 25-yards out went a few feet over the crossbar
• For the third consecutive OKWU game, their match went into OT
• In NAIA history only one tournament has had more overtime games at the Final Site - 2013 when eight of the 15 matches went extra time; this ties the 2016 championships when six total matches went past 90 minutes of play
• In the 95^th minute, the ball was switched over to the edge of the 18 yard box, where Antonio Mugica took a touch and then the shot from 19 yards - off his left foot and into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead
• Overtime rules stipulate both OT periods must be played, so the MNU defense needed to last 15 more minutes keeping the Eagles off the scoreboard – which they did
• MidAmerica Nazarene outshot OKWU 15-10 but both teams put only two shot attempts on frame
• The Pioneers were led offensively by Rick Hovinga and Munoz who each tallied four shots and Nicholas Theberge who added three
• Joao Neves and Matheus Ulrich combined for five of Oklahoma Wesleyan's 10 teams shots
• MNU held a 8-1 edge in corner kicks while the foul distribution was nearly even at 16-15