ST. LOUIS – Both Missouri Baptist soccer programs will begin postseason play this week in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament.
The men's program (6-11, 4-7) won four of their final five regular season games to secure the tournament's eighth and final spot. They are rewarded with a match against the conference's top team (No. 12) Columbia College.
The women's team (7-9-2, 7-3-2) also finished the regular season strong, notching a 5-1-1 record in its final seven games. They earned the No. 6 seed in the tournament and will play No. 3 seed Lyon College in the opening round.
Men's Preview: No. 8 Missouri Baptist at No. 1 Columbia College (Saturday, Nov. 7, 6:00 p.m.)
How They Got Here: The Spartans began conference play 0-6, but ended strong to capture the tournament's final spot. Tyler Lewis' goal in the 87th minute Saturday gave the Spartans a 2-1 win over No. 22 Lyon and helped secure a playoff berth. The team's late run began on October 17th with a dominant 10-0 win over St. Louis College of Pharmacy. The Spartans then proceeded to win three of their next four games.
Players to Watch: Sophomore Gerardo Espinoza and freshman Josh Phillips lead the team with seven goals each. The two have combined to score 14 of the team's 32 goals this season. Erick Ocampo is also a major scoring threat. Seniors Chad Otec and Jose Villatoro anchor the defense, while freshmen Brendan Carnahan mans the net. The Spartan keeper enters the postseason having allowed only seven goals in the last five games.
Scouting Columbia: Columbia (16-2, 11-0) holds the tournament's No. 1 seed. They bullied through AMC play undefeated, including a 2-1 victory over Missouri Baptist on Oct. 21. The Spartans played CC tough, especially in the second half, but couldn't overcome an early two-goal deficit. Junior Mitchell Conning leads the team with 10 goals, while Vadim Cojocov is second on the team with nine. Goalie Iain McTurk has only allowed 10 goals this season in 14 games.
What's Next? Teams will be re-seeded. For the semifinals, highest seeded quarterfinal winner will play lowest seeded quarterfinal winner. –via AMC Sports As the highest seed, MBU will play the lowest seeded quarterfinal winner and play each of its games on the road.
Women's Preview: No. 6 Missouri Baptist at No. 3 Lyon College (Friday, Nov. 6, 1:00 p.m.)
How They Got Here: The women's team also finished strong, losing just once in their final seven games. However, in the top-heavy AMC, a 7-3-2 conference record was only good for the No. 6 seed. The Spartans finished the regular season with a 0-0 tie against Lyon on Saturday. This time, the rematch on Nov. 6 will feature a winner.
Players to Watch: Seniors Donna Jolliff (seven goals) and Taylor Giese (eight goals) pace the Spartans offensively. Freshman Danielle Wilde leads the team with seven assists. In net, sophomore goalkeeper Alex Lair has been one of the best at her position in the AMC. Lair only allowed 15 goals in her final 14 games to end the season.
Scouting Lyon: Lyon (11-5-2, 8-2-2) finished the regular season 9-1-2. Their only defeat was a 4-0 loss to Columbia College. As previously mentioned they tied MBU 0-0 on Saturday in an extremely even match. The Scots edged the Spartans in total shots 13-12. Anna Waldman and Jessica Souza lead the offense with 13 and 12 goals respectively. They have combined to score 25 of the team's 47 goals this season.
What's Next: Should the Spartans advance, they will take on the winner of No. 2 Park and No. 7 Harris-Stowe. Missouri Baptist beat HSSU 2-1 earlier this season and lost to Park 2-1. Should both MBU and HSSU win, the Spartans would host that game. See the full bracket HERE
What Else Should You Know?
- Only top eight teams (of 12) advance to the AMC Tournament
- The lowest-seeded teams hosts each game
- If tied after 90 minutes, there will be two 10-minute golden-goal (first team to score wins) overtimes. If no one scores in the 20-minute overtime, penalty kicks will follow
Who Qualifies for NAIA National Championship Opening-Round?
- MEN: Regular Season and Tournament Champions (Regular season runner-up is same)
- WOMEN: Tournament #1-Seed & Highest Tournament finisher that is not #1-seed
- NAIA National Championship Opening-Round game is on Saturday, Nov. 21
- NAIA National Tournament- MEN: Nov. 30-Dec. 5, 2015 (Delray Beach, Fla.) WOMEN: Nov. 30-Dec. 5, 2015 (Orange Beach, Ala.)
