Game Time... Just days after an epic quarterfinal win over Concordia in penalty kicks (10-9), the Northwestern College men's soccer team returns to the field Tuesday night against top-seed and 16th-ranked Morningside for a GPAC semifinal match. Tuesday night's game at Olsen Stadium is scheduled for 7pm. 

 GPAC Quarterfinal Info:
No.4 seed Northwestern (8-3 GPAC, 11-5-1) vs No.1 seed / #16 Morningside (9-1-1 GPAC, 14-3-1)
Tuesday, April 13th | 7pm
Olsen Stadium | Sioux City, Iowa
Watch | Live Stats
Tickets: Admission - $10 for adults/senior citizens, $3 for K-12; only those with NAIA passes and GPAC Student ID's will be admitted free of charge.

2020 GPAC Men's Soccer Postseason Tournament Bracket...The winner of the GPAC Tournament will advance, as the league's second automatic representative, to the NAIA National Men's Soccer National Championship Opening Round (on April 22-24).  If the regular season champion (Morningside) wins the Tournament, the regular season runner-up (Briar Cliff) will receive the second NAIA berth to the postseason. 

The NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Final Site is in Columbia County, Georgia, May 4-10, 2021, at Blanchard Woods Park.    

Saturday, April 10, 2021
Quarterfinal Round
#1 Morningside def. #8 Dakota Wesleyan, 4-0
#4 Northwestern 0  #5 Concordia 0 (2OT), Raiders advance on penalty kicks 10-9
#3 Hastings def. #6 University of Jamestown, 2-1
#2 Briar Cliff def. #7 Doane, 4-0

Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Semifinal Round- High Seeds Host
#4 Northwestern at #1 Morningside, 7 PM
#3 Hastings at #2 Briar Cliff, 1 PM

 Friday, April 16, 2021
GPAC Postseason Championship
Semifinal winners at highest seed remaining, time TBA

The Series...Tuesday night's match-up will be the 22nd in the rivalry between the rivals; Northwestern has a slight edge, going 11-9-1 against the Mustangs. The Raiders are 5-4-1 in the last 10 matches; this will be the first time that Northwestern and Morningside have met in the GPAC Tournament. They did play in the postseason, the NAIA Region IV Tournament in 2003 with the Raiders losing 2-0.

Earlier This Season...Northwestern College scored a pair of first half goals and held off Morningside 2-1, handing the Mustangs their only conference loss, played Nov.4 in Sioux City. 

Scoreless until the 25th minute, Juan Mackrey netted the game's first goal at the 25:37 mark, his team-leading fourth goal of the season. Nine minutes later, Philippe Patri scored off a pass from Joshua Wingfield, giving Head Coach Dan Swier's squad a 2-0 cushion.

With Northwestern still up 2-0, Morningside cut the lead in half when Victor Beker kicked one past Raider goalkeeper Ezekiel Foltz during the 55th minute for the hosts only goal. 

Foltz stopped six Morningside shots and earned his seventh win of the season. Northwestern totaled five shots on-goal, two by Patri and one each from Mackrey, Wingfield and Adam De Boer.

Scouting Reports...

    #16 / No.1 seed Morningside: 9-1-1 (1st), 14-3-1            Head Coach: Tom Maxon (20th year)

One of three teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference ranked in the latest NAIA coaches' poll, No.16 Morningside enters Tuesday night's semifinal with a 14-3-1 record. They won the conference regular season title with a 9-1-1 mark and already have qualified for the national tournament. Morningside has won four straight matches and has a 4-1 record in the spring. They defeated Dakota Wesleyan 4-0 in the conference quarters.

Also the head coach of the women's program, Maxon is in his 20th year in charge of the Morningside men's program. Named the GPAC Coach of Year in both 2020 and 2019, Maxon has led the Mustangs to back-to-back national tournaments, earning a first round victory last fall. He returns seven starters, 16 players, from last year's team that won the GPAC regular season with a 10-1 mark, 18-4 overall. 

    By the Numbers (GPAC / NAIA rank - if top 10)
    Goals / Game: 3.6 (1st)
    Goals Against / Game: 1.1 (2nd)
    Shots on Goal / Game: 9 (2nd)

    Individual Leaders (GPAC / NAIA rank - if top 10)
    Okan Golge (2x GPAC Player of the Year, 2x All-Conf) - 29 goals (1st / 2nd), 9 assists (T2nd), 29 shots (1st)
    Moritz Lusch (2x All-Conf) - 8 goals (T8th), 1 assist
    Robin Thomala - 9 goals (7th), 11 assists (1st / 4th)
    Austin Lingle - (all-conf) 9 assists (T2nd)
    Victor Beker (all-conf) - 5 goals, 9 assists (T2nd)
    Bjarne Huth (GPAC Def. Player of the Year / all-conf) - 2 goals against, 48 saves

    Northwestern Raiders:
    2020: 8-3 (4th in GPAC), 11-5-1 overall
        -most recent: lost to Viterbo 1-0 on March 31, 1-2 this spring
    2020 conference record: 8-3 (4th GPAC)
    Head Coach: Dan Swier (13th year)
        -owns best win percentage (54%)
        -most wins in program history (125)
    By the Numbers:
        goals / game: 1.8 (7th)
        shots on goal / game: 7.2 (4th)
        goals against / game: 1.3 (5th)
    Individual Leaders:
        Juan Mackrey: 7 goals, 3 assists
        James Bolger (all-conf): 7 goals, 2 assists
        Joshua Wingfield: 3 goals, 1 assist
        Philippe Patri: 3 goals, 3 assists
        Ezekiel Foltz (all-conf): 23 goals against, 85 saves, 1.4 goals vs