NAIA national tournament destinations have been set for Indiana Tech and Huntington University men's soccer teams after the both squads won their respective conference tournaments over the weekend.
No. 17 Indiana Tech (16-4-1) will host two games in the Opening Round on Friday, November 22 and Saturday, November 23. The Warriors face Vanguard at 1 p.m. November 22. The winner of the game faces Mobile at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Indiana Tech won its first Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament championship in ten years on Saturday, November 16, by outlasting Madonna 1-0 at Warrior Athletic Field. Midfielder's Pep Casas', of Barcelona, Spain, penalty kick with 9 minutes remaining gave the championship to the top-seeded Warriors. In a game of only 14 total shots and 3 shots-on-goal combined, Tech goalkeeper Ivan Safranic just needed one save to seal the victory.
Tech won the regular season WHAC championship for the first time in school history, giving the Warriors a sweep of the conference crowns. Indiana Tech is 13-0-1 since September 20, which the longest unbeaten streak for the program.
Huntington heads to the University of Rio Grande for their Opening Round game Friday, November 22, against Cardinal Strich at noon. The winner of that game faces Rio Grande on Saturday, November 23.
The 2-seed Foresters repeated as Crossroads League Tournament champions by upsetting top-seed--and NAIA 6th-ranked--Spring Arbor in the championship game on Saturday, November 16. Midfielder Luke Unger, who played at Carroll High School, knocked in Huntington's lone goal on the Foresters' lone shot of the contest in the 24th minute. Goalkeeper Gabe Greenfield, of Novo Hamburgo, Brazil, had 3 saves on 12 SAU shots to slow Cougar offense that previously averaged 2.7 goals per game.
Huntington (15-4-2) enters the national tournament after outscoring opponents 6-1 in the 3 Crossroads League tourney games. This is the first time in 30 years the Foresters have qualified for the NAIA tourney in back-to-back seasons.
Indiana Tech and Huntington University are two of five universities that partner with Parkview Sports Medicine for athletic training, sports performance training, nutrition, athletic rehabilitation and other orthopedic and sports medicine services for student-athletes. Learn more at parkviewsportsmedicine.com.