KANSAS CITY, MO – (
Bracket) The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially released the pairings for the 2011 Men's Soccer National Championship Opening Round. There will be 30 teams playing at 15 on-campus sites on Nov. 19. The winners of the National Championship Opening Round games, as well as No. 4 Mobile (Ala.), will advance to the Final Site from Nov. 28 - Dec. 3 in Orange Beach, Ala.
The Pioneers have been matched up against #6 seed Grand View University (16-2-2) out of Des Moines, Iowa. Grand View is currently ranked #9 in the NAIA Top 25 poll and qualified for the National Tournament by receiving the 3rd At-large bid. They were defeated in their conference tournament semi-final, but had a high enough MRPI to earn the bid. This is Grand View's 7th appearance in the tournament and 2nd in a row. They have a combined record of 3-6 in the tournaments.
The Pioneers, fresh off of an incredible week that saw them win the Heart of America Conference Tournament Championship, will be tested against yet another top-10 team. MNU is receiving votes in the latest National poll and seem to have gotten hot at the right time. This will be MNU's second appearance at the National Tournament with their other experience coming in 2007 when they hosted the National Championship Tournament. In that year, MNU won their opening game over Covenant College before falling in the second round to eventual national champions Azusa Pacific University (CA).
Grand View and MNU have played just 2 times in their history with MNU winning both matches. In 2007 the score was 4-1, and in 2008 it was 3-2. Both teams will be vying for a place in the Final 16 and this is sure to be a great match. Grand View plays their home games on campus at the James W. Cownie Soccer Complex, located at 2600 East Hartford Avenue in Des Moines a few miles south of the Grand View campus. Game time is 2:00 PM.
You can get more information on the 2011 National Championship Tournament by
here.
