If Wayland Baptist repeats as NAIA men's soccer national champions in 2018, it won't be as a conference tournament champion.
The reigning two-time Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament titlist Pioneers dropped a 2-1 decision to Mid-America Christian in a semifinal match here Tuesday, leaving 13
th-ranked Wayland on ice as the team awaits its fate in the national tournament.
While the fifth-seeded Evangels (12-5) advance to the championship to face either John Brown or USAO, top-seeded Wayland (13-4) must wait until noon Monday to find out if it will receive an at-large bid into the 31-team national championship field.
"I think we have a good chance, but you never know," WBU coach
Cristhian Ospina said. "We'll have to wait and see what happens."
Whether Wayland, which remained 13
th in the final poll released just before the start of Tuesday's match, gets invited to defend its national crown will depend on how many higher-ranked teams earn automatic berths. In other words, the Pioneers hope the teams ranked ahead of them get automatic bids.
Last year's bracket included six at-large bids, which will be determined by the Soccer National Selection Committee for the second year.
Tuesday's loss was the second of the season to MACU, which won Sept. 29 in Oklahoma City, 1-0.
In the rematch, the Evangels – despite spending most of their time on the defensive – took a 1-0 lead when Mouhamadou Cisse scored from 15 yards out following a free kick in the 25
th minute.
Wayland tied it some 7½ minutes into the second half when
Emiliano Fama blasted in a goal after an assist by
Federico Ucar and a free kick by
James Quinn.
The Evangels regained the lead with a goal after another free kick, this one by Rai Ramus from just outside the penalty box. His cross set up a left-footed shot for Tiuri Schieving from 10 yards out.
The game-winner came with 11:15 left on the clock. Despite frantic play down the stretch, Wayland wasn't able to put in the equalizer and force a second consecutive overtime match.
"I was proud of our guys. They kept it together and came back after we fell behind," Ospina said. "Our guys played well. We just made two mistakes on two set pieces and they scored goals."
The coach complimented MACU's strategy.
"They came in with a good game plan: sit in the back and wait and try to get a set piece," Ospina said. "It worked for them."
The Pioneers outshot the Evangels, 12-5, with five of Wayland's shots on-goal and three of MACU's. Ucar got off three shots for the home team while Quinn and
Alexis Castillo got two each. Schieving was credited with all but one of MACU's five attempts.
"For most of the game we were the better team," Ospina said. "Those things happen. Sometimes the better teams don't win."
NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 (Final)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK |
SCHOOL [1ST-PLACE VOTES] |
RECORD |
POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Rio Grande (Ohio) [11] |
16-0-0 |
488 |
| 2 |
2 |
William Carey (Miss.) [4] |
15-0-1 |
480 |
| 3 |
3 |
Central Methodist (Mo.) [3] |
16-1-2 |
471 |
| 4 |
4 |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
17-2-0 |
458 |
| 5 |
5 |
Hastings (Neb.) |
15-2-0 |
434 |
| 6 |
6 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
16-0-2 |
415 |
| 7 |
7 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
13-2-1 |
396 |
| 8 |
8 |
Missouri Valley |
12-3-3 |
386 |
| 9 |
9 |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
11-3-2 |
371 |
| 10 |
11 |
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
16-2-0 |
342 |
| 11 |
10 |
Spring Arbor (Mich.) |
16-3-1 |
332 |
| 12 |
12 |
Baker (Kan.) |
15-4-0 |
328 |
| 13 |
13 |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
13-3-0 |
304 |
| 14 |
14 |
Southern Oregon |
14-2-2 |
295 |
| 15 |
15 |
Bethel (Tenn.) |
14-3-1 |
272 |
| 16 |
16 |
Corban (Ore.) |
14-2-1 |
255 |
| 17 |
17 |
The Master's (Calif.) |
14-4-0 |
241 |
| 18 |
19 |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
14-3-0 |
206 |
| 19 |
20 |
Madonna (Mich.) |
16-3-0 |
184 |
| 20 |
21 |
Science & Arts (Okla.) |
13-3-2 |
174 |
| 21 |
23 |
Kansas Wesleyan |
15-4-0 |
150 |
| 22 |
25 |
Columbia (Mo.) |
13-4-1 |
142 |
| 23 |
24 |
University of Northwestern Ohio |
14-3-2 |
136 |
| 24 |
18 |
Benedictine (Kan.) |
11-5-3 |
131 |
| 25 |
NR |
Point (Ga.) |
16-1-1 |
82 |
Dropped out: William Penn (Iowa)
Receiving votes: Mobile (Ala.) 75, William Penn (Iowa) 54, Thomas (Ga.) 50, UC-Merced 38, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 30, William Woods (Mo.) 29, WVU Tech 24, Southeastern (Fla.) 24, Marymount California 15, LSU Shreveport 14, Arizona Christian 14, Georgia Gwinnett 9, Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 8, Grace (Ind.) 7, Cumberland (Tenn.) 5, Indiana Tech 4
