LAKELAND, Fla. – The Southeastern University men's soccer team will appear in the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in program history on Saturday as they take on the Bulldogs of #11 Cumberland University in the opening round.
"Cumberland is a tremendous opponent," said Head Coach
Clay Roberts. "They have proven that this year with many big wins and Mid-South Conference Championship. They are a very athletic team, with individual skill players that can punish us if we make mistakes."
Cumberland is 18-1-1 and will be making their first national tournament appearance as well. They played two months of undefeated soccer, climbing from no recognition in the preseason poll to #6 in week six, before #18 Campbellsville University, and fellow Mid-South Conference member, pulled of a 3-0 upset on October 30
th.
To advance to the national tournament, then #13 Cumberland got revenge where it counted by defeating then #7 Campbellsville in the Mid-South Conference Championships. The score was 1-1 through two overtime periods before the Bulldogs netted five PK's to four.
Sophomore forward Brian McNamara leads the Bulldogs with an impressive 14 goals including the game winner in a semifinal win over Lindsey Wilson. He is also tied for second on the team in assists with six, good for a team high 34 points.
"Our preparation has not been so much about who they are or what their style of play is, as much as, how we can break them down and score against them," said Roberts. "They are very organized and we are going to be precise in what areas we are trying to attack without exposing ourselves to their talented players. It will be a fantastic game, one that we are ready for."
Southeastern endured a slower start to their season as they suffered all four of their losses in the first nine games. In the midst of those nine games however, they began Sun Conference play 3-1 and received votes after a 2-0 week with wins over Florida Memorial and SCAD-Savannah.
The following week marked a turning point in the season as the Fire defeated then #7 Thomas University which skyrocketed them from receiving three votes to sitting at #18 in a matter of a week.
They climbed one spot to #17 in week six before falling back to #18 in the final two weeks of the poll.
As the first seed in The Sun Conference, the Fire enjoyed a quarterfinal bye before defeating Keiser University 2-1 in overtime. The equalizer belonged to freshman
Luke Marchesani in the 60
th minute and the game winner to freshman
Jake Van Der Luit in the 7
th minute of overtime.
With a 2-1 win over St. Thomas the following day they secured a Sun Conference championship, their first appearance at nationals, and their ninth consecutive win of the season. Van Der Luit earned tournament MVP after scoring both goals in the win.
Pedro Ivo Dias leads the Fire with 10 goals and 26 points as he also has six assists, good for second on the team.
Gerritson Craane has the most assists with 11. A total of 17 men are responsible for the Fire's 54 total goals on the season, including five freshman who have scored 20 goals combined.
"Cumberland is a talented team, but we have had a season full of talented teams. Our approach will be to maintain the rhythm both defensively and offensively that have allowed to play until this point," said Roberts. "We will need our skill players to step up and make big plays in this game. It's a one game season and our team is ready to embrace the challenge and opportunity. It should be a fantastic game."
Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Eastern, 12 p.m. Central on the Cumberland University campus in Lebanon, Tennessee.
Live video and
live stats are available for those who can't make the trip. Be sure to follow @SEUFireMSoccer on Twitter for scores and updates.
