Olivet Nazarene Seeks To Complete The Double Trifecta In Men's Soccer
CHICAGO --- Olivet Nazarene University's men's soccer team completed the first half of its double trifecta by claiming the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season championship for the third straight year last weekend. Starting Saturday, the top-seeded Tigers (10-3-2) will look to perform the same feat on the CCAC Tournament side when the eight-team event kicks off at four separate locations.
It is anything but a given, however, especially knowing that only two points separated the top two teams in the league with Olivet Nazarene (28 points) edging out Governors State University (27) and Roosevelt University (26) for the crown. There is also the fact that Governors State is a much different team than the one that lost to the Tigers 2-1 back on Sept. 26. That is when the tide turned for the Jaguars.
After losing each of its first eight games of the season, No. 2-seeded Governors State (8-8-1) has gone unbeaten in nine straight contests, with success in each of its last seven affairs. The Jaguars' other conference loss was to Holy Cross (2-1) with a 4-4 tie against No. 6 University of St. Francis (8-6-2) mixed in.
Roosevelt comes in as the No. 3 seed at 9-6-1. The Lakers will have to get past the two higher-seeded teams to advance to the next round, something they did not do during the regular season. RU dropped a pair of two-goal decisions to both teams, Olivet Nazarene by a 2-0 count and Governors State 3-1. Its other setback came at the hands of No. 5 seed Saint Xavier University (8-6-4) by a 1-0 score.
The thing that makes Roosevelt a serious threat is the fact that it tied Olivet Nazarene for allowing the fewest goals (nine) during the conference campaign.
Trinity Christian College (8-6-3) rounds out the top half of the seeding at No. 4 and will join the other three in hosting a first-round contest. Those matchups have No. 8 seed Viterbo University (7-5-6) playing at Olivet Nazarene, No. 7 Judson University (7-8-2) heading to Governors State, Roosevelt hosting St. Francis and Saint Xavier making the short trip over to Trinity Christian.
Semifinal-round play takes place next Wednesday (Nov. 7) at the sites of the two highest remaining seeds. The championship match follows next Saturday.
Should Olivet Nazarene also capture the CCAC Tournament, Governors State will earn the conference's second automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round by virtue of its second-place regular-season finish.
Olivet Nazarene earned the first automatic bid courtesy of the regular-season title.
For a tournament bracket, go to Bracket.
The complete tournament schedule follows:
Saturday, November 4 - First Round
• Match #1: No. 8 Viterbo (7-5-6) at No. 1 Olivet Nazarene (10-3-2) --- 6 pm CT
• Match #2: No. 5 Saint Xavier (8-6-4) at No. 4 Trinity Christian (8-6-3) --- 12 pm CT
• Match #3: No. 7 Judson (7-8-2) at No. 2 Governors State (8-8-1) --- 12:30 pm
• Match #4: No. 6 St. Francis (8-6-2) at No. 3 Roosevelt (9-6-1) --- 7 pm
Wednesday, November 8 - Semifinal Round
• Match #5: Winner-Match #1 vs. Winner-Match #2 --- TBA (at site of highest remaining seed)
• Match #6: Winner-Match #3 vs. Winner-Match #4 --- TBA (at site of highest remaining seed)
Saturday, November 11 – Championship
• Match #7: Winner-Match #5 vs. Winner-Match #6 --- TBA (at site of highest remaining seed)