Men's Soccer 11/29/2021 10:00:00 AM

Men’s Soccer Opens NAIA Final Site on Tuesday

Looking to keep its magical postseason run going, the OUAZ men's soccer team will face MidAmerica Nazarene in an NAIA National Championship First Round game at the Jack Allen Recreation Complex in Decatur, Alabama, on Tuesday at noon (AZ).

Every game of the NAIA National Championship will be broadcast live on the NAIA Network, which is available at OUAZSpirit.com/naiasoccer. The NAIA Network is also available on all Amazon Fire, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku devices.

Coming off wins over Georgia Gwinnett and St. Thomas (Fla.) during the NAIA National Championship Opening Round, OUAZ is now 13-4-1 on the season. The Spirit is 5-1-1 in their last seven games, and 5-2-2 in all games played away from home this season. In the program's history, OUAZ has gone 7-5-1 during postseason play.

OUAZ heads to Alabama averaging 2.44 goals per game, where they rank 57th in the NAIA. The Spirit has scored multiple goals in a game 11 times during the year, and only twice were held without a goal. They attempt 15.1 shots per game, with 53.7 percent of them on goal.

Tom Cohen leads the Spirit into the NAIA Final Site with 11 goals scored – including two in the Opening Round Final – to rank 75th in the NAIA. Cohen is tied for seventh in the nation with 12 assists to put him 36th in the country with 34 points. Cohen has recorded at least one point in 12 of the team's 18 games.

Kebba Jobe has added six goals and nine assists for 21 points. He is second on the team in all three of those categories. Jobe had at least one shot in every game but one with 47.2 percent of his 36 attempts on goal.

The Spirit enters Tuesday 14th in the NAIA with their 0.76 goals-against-average and 16th with nine shutouts. They have only allowed multiple goals in a game four times and didn't allow goals in three straight games at any point of the season.

Angel Ramirez has played every minute in goal for the Spirit to rank 22nd nationally in GAA (0.76), ninth in wins (13), and shutouts (9). He has recorded 49 saves with a .778 save percentage.

MidAmerica Nazarene brings a 13-6-1 record into the Final Site after winning the Opening Round hosted by Bellevue. The Pioneers average 2.00 goals per game and have a 0.96 GAA. Rick Hovinga leads the team with 14 goals and 56 shots.

OUAZ is 1-0 all-time against MNU, with the previous meeting a 2-0 win by the Spirit earlier this season. Nathan Head and Cohen scored the two goals for the Spirit in that game played at MNU in September.

The winner of Tuesday's game between OUAZ and MNU advance to face top-seeded Central Methodist in the quarterfinals at 11 a.m. (AZ) on Thursday.

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Players Mentioned

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

#13 Nathan Head: MF; 5' 10"; Sophomore

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

#13 Nathan Head
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: MF

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

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