It was not going to take much for the OUAZ men's soccer team to advance to the semifinals of the 2019 NCCAA National Tournament. All they needed to do was score a goal, or not get shut out by four or more goals. The Spirit got the goal they needed to advance, and more as they took down Grace College 2-1 on Wednesday night.

OUAZ made up for its loss to Grace College at last year's competition. That loss sent the Spirit into a semifinal matchup against #1 overall seed Southwestern Christian University. The Spirit's win on Wednesday makes them the #2 seed for the semifinal round.

Hazem Sobhy got the scoring started for OUAZ, as he converted a penalty kick right before halftime. Grace came out of the break and put up the equalizer in the 54' thanks to Henrique Cerruti. Christian Gennaro then delivered
the game-winner in the 87', sending the team to a 2-0 record in NCCAA pool play, the best start at the NCCAA's in program history.

There were plenty of chances for each team, as the final shot total finished 12-9 in favor of OUAZ, and the shots on goal total finished 6-5 in favor of the Spirit as well. Andrew Tamburro made four saves for his second consecutive victory.

The Spirt will now face Mid-American Christian on Friday in the second semifinal of the day. It is the first matchup between the two programs, and the winner advances to the final on Saturday. Kickoff for Friday's match is scheduled for 12:30pm MST.