Siloam Springs Opening Round Homepage
SILOAM SPRINGS – The No. 11 John Brown University women's soccer team, by virtue of claiming its third-ever Sooner Athletic tournament crown, have played their way into its seventh NAIA National Championships appearance in program history, as the Golden Eagles were selected to host one of ten Opening Round brackets that features visiting No. 19 Baker (Kan.), Bethel (Tenn.) and No. 12 Oklahoma Wesleyan, the NAIA national office announced on Monday morning (April 12).
For the third consecutive season, the Golden Eagles (12-0-0), designated the second seed in the bracket, will face Baker on Thursday (April 15) evening at 6 p.m. Top-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan and Bethel will clash in the first contest of the day, with the kick-off scheduled for 3 p.m. The winner will battle on Saturday (April 17) afternoon at 2 p.m. All matches on the weekend will air on the SAC Sports Network.
HOW THIS ALL WORKS
After expanding the championship field from 31 to 46 teams last season, COVID-19 forced a reduction of the field from 46 to 40 for this season only. There are ten Opening Round host sites around the nation that feature two semifinals on Thursday and a final on Saturday. The ten Opening Round winner will advance to the final site at Foley, Ala. where the committee will reseed the ten Opening Round winners into a ten-team bracket.
Based on the final NAIA National Selection Committee picks, the four teams in each Opening Round bracket are seeded with the top and fourth seeds to play in one semifinal and the middle two seeds to play in the other. The winners will have a day of rest on Friday before facing off in the final on Saturday.
In Foley, the eighth and ninth seed will play an extra contest, with the winner facing the top overall seed in the national quarterfinals. Similarly, the tenth and seventh seeds will play for the right to take on the second overall seed in the national quarterfinals. |
Head coach Kathleen Paulsen has now guided the program to five NAIA National Championships appearances in eight seasons. John Brown is officially 1-5-1 in six previous appearances (2005-10-13-16-18-19), but made history in 2018 when it ousted Kansas Wesleyan by a 1-0 final in the Opening Round at Alumni Field, the program's first victory on the national stage. The Blue and Gold advanced to Orange Beach only to run into red-hot Southeastern (Fla.), which ended JBU's season with a 3-0 score as the Fire eventually made its way to the national semifinals. Last season, JBU fell in penalty kicks to upstart Eastern Oregon at Alumni Field after battling to a 0-0 double-overtime draw.
One of only two teams entering the championship field boasting a perfect record (No. 4 Martin Methodist, 16-0-0), the Golden Eagles steamrolled through the Sooner Athletic tournament and captured its fourth-ever title by out-scoring its opponents 15-1. John Brown was relegated to a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-10 pandemic, and finished the SAC table with a perfect 9-0-0 mark and a 38-1 scoring margin during the regular season. Averaging 4.4 goals per game, the sixth-best offense in the nation, the Golden Eagles are led by senior Sienna Nealon's 11 goals (27 points) and junior Paige Kula's 12 assists (20 points). Kula leads the nation in assists per game (1.00) and defensively, senior Caitlyn Logan has allowed just two goals on 20 shots (.909 save percentage) and allows just 0.17 goals against per game, the third-best mark in the nation, highlighted by 10 clean sheets.
John Brown in the NAIA National Championships
- John Brown received one of 27 automatic berths into the championship field.
- Making its seventh appearance all time (2005-10-13-16-18-19), John Brown is 1-5-1, and is 1-0-1 all-time in Opening Round matches played at Alumni Field.
- John Brown is 1-1-0 all-time against Baker, as the two teams squared off in a home-and-home in 2010 and 2011. JBU picked up a 2-1 win in Baldwin City, Kan. in 2010 before dropping a 4-3 contest at Alumni Field in 2011.
FOLLOW THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Don't miss a minute of the latest action surrounding JBU Athletics by following the Golden Eagles on Twitter (@JBUathletics), Instagram (@JBUathletics) and Facebook (/JBUathletics). Also, don't forget to download the SAC Sports Network app on your favorite streaming device. All Golden Eagle home events, and select away contests, are streamed on the SACSN.
