Columbia, Mo. – This evening the 15th ranked Columbia College men's soccer team was back in action when they played host to the University of Northwestern Ohio Racers in the 2017 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Opening Round. The Cougars, who earned an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round after winning the AMC Championships, were able to improve to 18-2-2 on the season after defeating the Racers by a final score of 2-0. With the win, Columbia College will advance to the final site of the 2017 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championships in Delray Beach, Florida.
The game was very physical from the start. A foul committed early by the Racers, resulted in Adam Du Toit finding the back of the net on a penalty kick to put the Cougars up 1-0 just six minutes into the match. As the half progressed, Columbia played solid defense keeping the Racers out of the net and the Cougars held a 1-0 lead heading into the locker room. It was a very tight first half as Columbia only outshot the Racers 3-1 with each keeper making one save in the period.
The Cougars came out in the second half and were able to double their lead just eight minutes into the period. Michael Mayberry had the goal for Columbia as he received a ball from Matija Ceraj just outside the box before blasting his shot past the Racers keeper for his eight tally of the season to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead. The Racers battled back and were able to control most of the possession for the rest of the game but Columbia played solid defense throughout and were able to hold off them off down the stretch to solidify their spot in Delray Beach, Florida.
Nicolau Neto was in goal tonight for the Cougars as he made four saves and recorded his 11th shutout of the season.
The Cougars will be back in action on Monday, November 27th when they travel to Delray Beach, Florida, to take on the winner between Baker (Kan.) and Grace (Ind.) in the second round of the NAIA Men's National Championships. The game is set to start at 12:30 p.m. CST.
