FAYETTE, Mo. - The Central Methodist University men's and women's soccer teams are set to host a pair of NAIA Opening Round competitions this weekend.
HOW IT WORKS:
Central Methodist will serve as the host institution for the 2019 NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship Opening Round and the 2019 Men's Soccer National Championship Opening Round on November 22-23, but all games will be played at an off-site location. Battle High School (Columbia, Mo.) will serve as the event venue for the weekend of play.
Single elimination play will begin on Friday, November 22, with the following schedule:
- Women's - Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) vs Aquinas (Mich.) - 11 AM
- Olivet Nazarene will serve as the home team
- Men's - Martin Methodist (Tenn.) vs Houston-Victoria (Texas) - 3 PM
- Martin Methodist will serve as the home team
Winners of Friday's games will advance to play the Central Methodist programs on Saturday with the following schedule:
- Women's - Central Methodist vs TBD - 12 PM
- Men's - Central Methodist vs TBD - 3 PM
- Central Methodist will be the home team in both contests.
Saturday's winners will advance to the final site of their respective tournaments to compete in the second round of the championship on December 2-3.
WOMEN'S SOCCER | BRACKET
This year's opening round field includes 26 automatic qualifiers, 19 at-large selections, and one host berth. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title, regular-season championship or finished runner-up at the conference tournament. The at-large bids were determined by the Soccer National Selection Committee.
The Eagles will enter the contest at the No. 4 overall seed in the 2019 NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship and are the lone team in the race to still hold an undefeated record in their third consecutive appearance.
Olivet will appear in the postseason tournament for the 7th time in program history, entering the contest with an overall record of 17-2-1. The Tigers earned an automatic bid to the tournament after winning the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament.
Aquinas will appear for the 2nd time in program history, boasting an overall record of 17-3-1. The Saints also earned an automatic bid to postseason action after earning a runner-up finish in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament.
MEN'S SOCCER | BRACKET
The 2019 Opening Round field includes 27 automatic qualifiers, 18 at-large selections and the one host berth. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title, regular-season championship or finished runner-up during the regular season or at the conference tournament; the number of automatic qualifiers differ conference-to-conference based on conference size and postseason-eligible teams. The at-large bids were determined by the Soccer National Selection Committee.
No. 1-seed Central Methodist (Mo.) is making its second NAIA men's soccer postseason appearance after attending for the first time in 2018 and coming home with a red banner. The Eagles were the top-ranked team for most of the regular season. Central Methodist earned an automatic berth as the Heart of America Athletic Conference regular season champion with a 20-1 record.
Houston-Victoria will make an appearance for the 2nd time in program history, entering the weekend with an overall record of 16-0-3. The Jaguars earned an automatic bid to the tournament after winning the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament.
Martin Methodist will compete at the national level for the third time in program history and first time since 2013, entering the tournament with an overall record of 13-7-0. The RedHawks earned at at-large bid out of the Southern States Athletic Conference.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- Gates will open one hour prior to the start of the game.
- Ticket pricing: $8 - Adult | $5 - Senior/Student (Only NAIA National Office passes will be accepted).
- For directions to Battle High School - CLICK HERE
- Live stats - (M) CLICK HERE / (W) CLICK HERE
- Watch live - CLICK HERE
