DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- After months of training and games it comes down to one contest for the national championship. The No. 5-seed Azusa Pacific will battle No. 2-seed Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) tonight at 7 p.m. (EST) to decide the title. It marks the first time the Cougars have played in the national final.
Azusa Pacific roars into the title game after picking apart Hastings (Neb.), 4-0, in its semifinal. Meanwhile, the Blue Raiders scored late to force overtime before knocking off Southern Nazarene (Okla.), 2-1, in the other bracket’s semifinal.
The Cougars have appeared in 3 NAIA Tournaments (1996, 2004, 2005) and tonight’s match will mark the third time they have faced Lindsey Wilson having yet to defeat it. The Blue Raiders ended the Cougars season last year when they advanced 4-3 on penalty kicks. The loss still looms large in the minds of the Cougars here that were members of that team.
Azusa Pacific (20-4-0) has won its 3 tournament games by a combined score of 8-2 including a pair of overtime wins over Graceland (Iowa) and Auburn Montgomery (Ala.). Andriy Budnyy has continued to make his case as one of the nation’s top players with 3 goals, including 2 overtime game winners, and 1 assist in the 3 games.
Lindsey Wilson’s road to the championship game has seen it knock off Judson (Ill.), 4-1, in the first round and defending national champion Lindenwood (Mo.), 2-0, in the quarterfinals setting up its victory over Southern Nazarene.
Tonight’s match will be a challenge against the Blue Raiders who are appearing in their seventh championship game. They are undefeated in the title games having won it all on 6 previous occasions, including 4 in a row from 1998-2001.
Lindsey Wilson (22-1-0) has only a single blemish on its record in 2005, a 2-1 loss at the hands of Auburn Montgomery. The Blue Raiders and Cougars also share Bethel (Ind.) and Judson (Ill.) as common opponents. Against Bethel, Azusa Pacific won 4-1 while Lindsey Wilson won 5-1. Both teams beat Judson going away as well.
The Blue Raider attack is led by Mkhokheli Dube, a sophomore forward from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, who had scored 19 goals coming into the tournament. The Region XI champions are making their 13th straight appearance at nationals.
The Cougars run has coincided with the emergence of several players including goalkeeper James Crawford and defender Jeff Teach amongst others.
As Skelly Kellar put it after the game last night, “It’s like we are playing with 1 purpose, 1 spirit and 1 goal and now we are only 90 minutes away.”
The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m. (EST) at the ERAU Soccer Complex in Daytona Beach, Fla.
