Bethel Beats LSU-Alexandria in First Round of Men's Soccer National Championship
MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The Bethel University Wildcats played host to the first round of the Men's Soccer National Championship Thursday. Bethel was one of ten sites around the nation as 40 teams began their quest for the national title.
The No. 1 seeded Wildcats beat No. 4 seeded LSU-Alexandria 2-1 to advance to Saturday's championship bracket game. They will face Mid-America Christian University who beat Morningside College 4-2 in Penalty Kicks after a 2-2 tie.
After a physical and scoreless 1st period Bethel took a 1-0 lead on a Brian Mbauni goal at 57:39 of the second period. The assist was credited to Nicolas Ruiz. Seven minutes later Bethel's Alphonso Gooden scored after an assist from Mbauni. It was Gooden's team leading 10th goal of the year. Three minutes (67:26) later Danny Stevens scored to make it 2-1 Bethel. The Cats were able to hold however to move to 13-1 on the season. LSU-A ended their season at 5-5-3.
The No. 8 nationally ranked Wildcats had a 7-3 advantage in shots and a 6-2 margin in shots on goal. All of Bethel's shots came in the second period. Norberto Lima Vieira recorded one save in the Wildcat victory.
The Wildcats and the Evangels will take the pitch at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Live Stats: https://www.dakstats.com/websync/pages/Webcasts.aspx?association=10
Live video: https://boxcast.tv/view/2021-naia-mens-soccer-mckenzie-tenn-bracket-finals-157336
The winner will advance to Columbia County, Ga. at the NAIA National Championship final site event. The 62nd annual championship takes place at the Blanchard Woods Park May 4-10, 2021.