The UW-Oshkosh men's soccer team will face two-time defending national champion Messiah College (Pa.) in a NCAA Division III Championship semifinal at 11 a.m. on Friday (Dec. 3) in San Antonio, Texas.
UW-Oshkosh (20-0-3) is the lone undefeated team in the nation. The Titans are making their 12th trip to the NCAA Tournament, holding a postseason mark of 19-9-3. UW-Oshkosh has surrendered just five goals all season while notching a school-record 18 shutouts. First-year head coach Wytse Molenaar guided the Titans to their first Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship in 2010.
UW-Oshkosh, ranked 11th in the country by D3Soccer.com, advanced to the Final Four with a 1-0 decision over Calvin College (Mich.) on Nov. 20. The Titans topped Loras College (Iowa), 2-0, to reach their contest with the Knights. During the opening weekend of the NCAA Championship, UW-Oshkosh eliminated Carroll University (Wis.), 2-1, and North Park University (Ill.), 2-0.
Messiah College (21-1) has won seven national titles during the last 10 years. The Falcons are making their 22nd visit to the NCAA Division III Championship and own a 59-12-4 record in the tournament. The Middle Atlantic Commonwealth Conference champions have won 21 straight games since dropping their season opener to Hobart College (N.Y.).
Messiah College, which has appeared in the Final Four every season since 2004, qualified for its match with UW-Oshkosh by blanking United States Merchant Marine Academy (N.Y.), 3-0, on Nov. 21. The top-ranked Falcons prevailed over Montclair State University (N.J.), 2-1 in overtime, and Medaille College (N.Y.), 2-0, in their opening games of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Friday's other semifinal has Bowdoin College (Maine) taking on Lynchburg College (Va.). That contest begins at 1:30 p.m.
Bowdoin College (15-1-4), ranked 16th by D3Soccer.com, is making its first appearance in the Final Four and fifth showing in the tournament. The Polar Bears shared the New England Small College Athletic Conference title with Williams College (Mass.).
Bowdoin College used an overtime goal from Zach Danssaert to top Middlebury College (Vt.), 2-1, and reach the Final Four. Earlier in the tournament, the Polar Bears edged Eastern Connecticut State University, 2-1, and ousted Amherst College (Mass.) on penalty kicks (3-1) after playing to a 1-1 double-overtime tie.
Lynchburg College (19-4-1) is making its 10th appearance in the NCAA Championship. This one has been its most successful, as the Hornets tallied a 1-8-1 record in their previous nine postseason showings.
Lynchburg College, champion of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, reached its first Final Four by knocking off Ohio Wesleyan University, 2-0. The Hornets began their tournament run with a 3-1 triumph over Transylvania University (Ky.), 2-1 victory over Emory University (Ga.) and 2-0 win over Trinity University (Texas).
The winners of the semifinal matches will battle for the NCAA Division III title at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Dec. 4). All three contests of the Final Four will be held at the Blossom Soccer Complex.
NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship Bracket
