2009 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Final Preview
Dec. 5, 2009
Updated Bracket | Click Here
Championship Statistical Leaders | Click Here
FRESNO, Calif. – The showdown is set as No. 1 seed Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) faces No. 15 seed The Master’s (Calif.) in the 2009 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship final. The event is scheduled for 3 p.m. PST on Saturday from Ramirez Field. The final, which is hosted by Fresno Pacific (Calif.) University and the Fresno Sports Council, has lasted six days and brought in 16 teams to the final site. The Championship final can be viewed live by clicking here and live stats can be viewed here.
Lindsey Wilson (19-2-1), a school out of the Mid-South Conference from Columbia, Ky., is a veteran in Championship action. The Blue Raiders are participating in their 17th overall postseason, including their 16th straight, and have a 39-9-4 playoff record. Overall, Lindsey Wilson owns seven national titles, second only to Quincy’s (Ill.) 11, and last won the trophy in 2005. Coached by Ray Wells in his 20th season, the Blue Raiders have won 11 straight matches overall and are trying to improve upon a perfect 7-0 record when playing in the Championship final.
Freshman midfielder Lebogang Moloto leads all scorers in the tournament with three goals, which added to his season total of seven this year. Sophomore defender Chris Ochieng leads the club with 14 goals and nine assists (37 points). Three other players, besides Ochieng, have notched at least 10 goals this year. The Blue Raiders have scored 77 goals (3.5 pg) while the defense has held opponents to 11 goals (0.5 pg) all season and shut out 15 of them. During their current 11-match winning streak, the Blue Raiders have out-scored their opponents 46-1 – the lone goal came against Martin Methodist in the Quarterfinal (Dec. 2).
In getting to the Championship final, Lindsey Wilson defeated unseeded Lee (Tenn.) 2-0 in the Opening Round. From there, the Blue Raiders took down No. 16 seed Bellevue (Neb.), 2-0 before a 2-1 win over unseeded Martin Methodist (Tenn.) in the Quarterfinal and a 3-0 victory against No. 5 seed Simon Fraser (B.C.) in the Semifinal.
The Master’s (19-2-3) qualified as champions of the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament. A school located in Santa Clarita, Calif., with an enrollment of 1,080, The Master’s is moving into unchartered territory. In their fourth postseason appearance, the Mustangs never advanced to the Semifinal round before this year. The Mustangs got this far after defeating Holy Names (Calif.) 1-0 in the Opening Round, winning 1-0 against unseeded Indiana Tech on Monday, beating No. 7 seed Notre Dame (Ohio) 3-1 on Wednesday and advancing against No. 3 seed Rio Grande (Ohio) in penalty kicks (7-6) after a 0-0 double-overtime draw.
Freshman forward Marcelo Silva has a team-best three goals during the entire tournament. Sophomore forward Joel Peluffa leads the team with 14 goals and junior forward Jacob Marchesani has a team-best 12 assists. As a team, the offense has netted 48 goals (2.0 pg) while allowing 14 goals (0.583 pg). Head coach Jim Rickard, who is in his 19th year, heads a group to go 8-0-2 in its last 10 matches this year. With one more win, the Mustangs will tie a school record of 20 wins set back in 2001.
BY THE NUMBERS:
** Lindsey Wilson has seven Championship titles (1995-96, 1998-2001, 2005) – the second most all-time of any program. Quincy, a school no longer in the membership, has 11 to its credit.
** Lindsey Wilson is looking to become just the second No. 1 seed since 2002 to win the title – No. 1 seed Azusa Pacific (Calif.) won the hardware in 2007 in Olathe, Kan.
** Since pool play was eliminated prior to 1999, Lindsey Wilson becomes the fourth No. 1 seed to play in the Championship final (Azusa Pacific in 2007, Lindsey Wilson in 2001 and Mobile (Ala.) in 1999).
** In its previous seven Championship final games, Lindsey Wilson has out-scored the opponent 21-5.
** The Master’s, who played in its first Semifinal ever, holds a 7-1-2 record in Championship play.
** Located roughly 3.5 hours from Fresno, The Master’s College campus was represented during the Semifinal game. A main portion of the 276 in attendance during Friday’s Semifinal wore the Blue and Gold.
** The Master’s is looking to become the eighth different team to win the national title in the last eight years. If Lindsey Wilson wins, the Blue Raiders will repeat as champions for the first time since 2005.
