COLUMBIA, Ky.- The Madonna University men's soccer team advanced to the final 16 of the NAIA National Tournament for the second straight year with a 1-0 win over Lindsey Wilson College at Walter S. Reuling Stadium in the 2018 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Opening Round on Saturday afternoon.
The game started out slow, as both teams were felt each other out, but picked up as the first half went on. Both teams managed one shot in the first 20 minutes, with the ball remaining in the midfield for the majority of the time.
The Crusaders then went on the aggressive, recording six shots in the rest of the half, but unfortunately none on target. Lindsey Wilson earned six corner kicks in the half, but only got one shot off their attempts.
As the second half started, the Blue and Gold took the majority of possession. The Crusaders allowed the Blue Raiders to shoot only three times, with none on frame.
In the 81st minute, the Crusaders finally broke the deadlock. Marlon De Freitas took a free kick, crossing the ball into the box onto Rodrigo Castro De Siqueira's head and he redirected it into the bottom left corner for the lone goal of the game.
Madonna also created eight shots in the second half and two on target for a total of 15 shots and two on goal. The Blue Raiders only recorded four shots with one on goal. The match was very physical with 40 total fouls, 24 by Madonna and 16 by Lindsey Wilson.
Madonna's Assistant Coach Felipe Guimaraes shared his thoughts about the game.
"Today's game was really hard, the field was not in a good condition," he said. "Lindsey Wilson has a very good squad, but second half we came back ready to fight. Credit to the players who came ready for this hard game after eight hours of driving. Nationals is always a dream, and to get it twice in a row means a lot for us and the program."
Siqueira scored his sixth goal of the year, with Freitas assisting for the eighth time. Joe Smith recorded the clean sheet, making it nine and a half shutouts for him.
Madonna advances to the NAIA National Championship final site in Irvine, California where they will face the winner of Marymount (Calif.) and No. 10-seed Bellevue (Neb.) on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 4:30 p.m. ET. The NAIA Network – the association's official video-streaming home – will broadcast all final-site matches live in Irvine, Calif. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, allows users access to live video, statistics and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single-day passes can be purchased for $9.95 while an all-tournament package is available for $29.95
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