OUAZ Ready for First NAIA National Championship Appearance

With the memory of a disappointing loss the last time they played, No. 25 OUAZ will look to return to its early-season form when they face No. 15 Georgia Gwinnett in the Opening Round of the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship on Thursday at 3 p.m. (Arizona).

The game is the second of the day at the Miami Gardens Bracket and will follow the meeting between St. Thomas (Fla.) and UC Merced. St. Thomas is the host of the bracket, with games being played at the Bobcat Turf Field. The two winners from Thursday will play in the bracket final for a trip to Decatur, Alabama, on Saturday at 11 a.m. (Arizona).

OUAZ is the No. 3-seed in the bracket, and they enter with an overall record of 11-4-1. The Spirit went 4-2-1 in GSAC play to finish fourth in the conference standings. In the quarterfinals, they were eliminated from the GSAC Tournament with a 1-0 loss to Arizona Christian.

GSAC All-Conference selection Tom Cohen leads the Spirit into their first appearance in the NAIA National Championship. Cohen has scored nine goals with 11 assists for 29 points this season. His 11 assists are tied for the single-season program record, and he has scored multiple goals in a game three times this season.

Kebba Jobe has added six goals and nine assists, and he was also named to the GSAC All-Conference Team. Jobe led the GSAC with five assists in conference play and his season included 34 shot attempts and three games with multiple assists.

OUAZ will look to Angel Ramirez in goal where the senior has a 0.74 goals-against-average. Ramirez has posted eight shutouts with a .782 save percentage playing every second in goal for the Spirit this season.

Thursday's game against Georgia Gwinnett – the No. 2 seed in the Miami Gardens Bracket – will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Spirit has also never faced either St. Thomas or UC Merced.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Tom Cohen: MF; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#7 Kebba Jobe: F; 5' 10"; Senior

#1 Angel Ramirez: GK; 6' 1"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#10 Tom Cohen
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: MF

#7 Kebba Jobe
: 5' 10"; Senior
: F

#1 Angel Ramirez
: 6' 1"; Senior
: GK

Players Mentioned

#10 Tom Cohen

#7 Kebba Jobe

#1 Angel Ramirez

Players Mentioned

#10 Tom Cohen

#7 Kebba Jobe

#1 Angel Ramirez