KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For the 12th time in program history, the John Brown University women's soccer team has qualified for the NAIA National Championships and will host First and Second Rounds action at Alumni Field, as the fifth-seeded Golden Eagles welcome Hastings (Neb.) and Friends (Kan.) to Siloam Springs, the NAIA national office announced Friday afternoon (Nov. 14).
John Brown (13-2-4) enters the national tournament as the Sooner Athletic's lone automatic qualifier after sweeping both the regular-season and tournament championships. The Golden Eagles finished unbeaten in league play at 7-0-2, securing their ninth SAC regular-season title behind the conference's most productive offense and stingiest defense. JBU then defeated second-seeded Science & Arts (Okla.) 3-1 in the SAC tournament championship match to claim its sixth consecutive tournament crown.
SAC regular season and tournament runner-up Science & Arts (Okla.) and Mid-America Christian (Okla.) join the Golden Eagles in the national tournament as at-large berths.
Hastings and Friends will open play in Siloam Springs on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 1 p.m. in the First Round. The winner advances to Saturday evening's Second Round fixture, where the Golden Eagles await at 6 p.m. A berth into the Round of 16 (Dec. 1-2) in Tallahassee, Fla. at the Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex, will be on the line.
The Broncos (15-3-3) arrive in Arkansas as the Great Plains Athletic Conference's second automatic qualifier after winning the league tournament title, defeating Dordt (Iowa) 1-0 in the final. Hastings features a balanced attack led by sophomore Madison Rhodes (10 goals, 4 assists), GPAC Defensive Player of the Year Megan Lampe on the back line, and sophomore goalkeeper Tatiana Villasenor, who carries an 11-1-3 record with seven shutouts and a 0.64 goals-against average. The Broncos have outscored opponents 48-13 this season and placed six players on the All-GPAC First or Second Teams.
Friends (14-3-4), the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference's second automatic qualifier, advanced to the league championship match and played top-seed Oklahoma Wesleyan to a scoreless draw before falling 4-3 on penalty kicks. The Falcons boast the KCAC's Co-Defensive Player of the Year in midfielder Solenn Levesque, while forwards Kieley Aranda (12 goals) and Paige Putter (6 goals) lead an attack that has produced 46 goals across 19 matches. Goalkeeper Morgan Wilkinson carries a 10-2-2 record with eight shutouts and a 0.53 goals-against average, anchoring a back line that allowed only 10 goals this season.
HOW THIS ALL WORKS
The NAIA National Championship is organized into eight pods of five teams each, and the entire event – from the First and Second Rounds through the National Championship match – is single elimination. Each pod is split across two host sites:
- Site A: the No. 1 seed in the pod (a national seed) hosts the 4–5 pod seeds in the First Round (Thursday) and faces the winner in the Second Round (Saturday).
- Site B: the No. 2 seed in the pod (also nationally seeded) hosts the No. 3 seed in the Second Round (Saturday).
The winners of each Site A and Site B meet in Pensacola, Fla., in the Round of 16, which marks the beginning of the championship's final site.
From there, the winners of the Round of 16 matches advance as the last surviving team from their respective pods, moving on to the national quarterfinal field. There, pod winners compete for a spot in the national semifinals and, ultimately, the NAIA National Championship Final – all staged at the Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex.
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John Brown enters national tournament play unbeaten at home, posting a 10-0-2 mark at Alumni Field. The Golden Eagles also carry several strong results against nationally ranked opponents, including a 3-1 win over No. 17 Science & Arts (Okla.) in the SAC tournament final, a 2-2 draw with then-No. 14 Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), and a 1-1 draw with then-No. 15 Oklahoma Wesleyan.
The Blue and Gold feature seven All-Sooner Athletic selections and three of the league's major award winners. Junior Julia Lambert was named SAC Co-Player of the Year and earned her third straight All-Conference nod, sophomore Marely Fonseca repeated as Goalkeeper of the Year, and freshman Bella Bingham joined senior Aubrey Winter on the All-SAC First Team. On the second team, sophomores Tianna Jones, Caitlin Hilson and Isabella Mendieta contributed to a unit that outscored conference foes 34-4 and posted six clean sheets.
Dr. Kathleen Paulsen, in her 13th season at the helm, collected her fourth SAC Coach of the Year honor after guiding John Brown to its eighth tournament crown. Since taking over the program in 2013, Paulsen has amassed a 100-9-9 record in Sooner Athletic play (.886).
This marks JBU's 12th appearance in the NAIA National Championships (2005-10-13-16-18-19-20-21-22-23-24-25). The Golden Eagles own a 7-9-2 all-time tournament record and have advanced to the Round of 16 twice, most recently in 2023.
Hastings is making its 14th national tournament appearance (2008-10-11-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-22-23-24-25) and captured a national runner-up finish in 2010. Friends appears for the fifth time (2019-21-23-24-25), all since 2019.
John Brown and Hastings would meet for the first time ever, should the Broncos advance on Thursday. Against Friends, the Golden Eagles holds a 5-0-0 all-time record, including a 2-0 victory in the First Round of the 2021 NAIA National Championships at Alumni Field. The Golden Eagles also posted wins in 2022 (5-2) and 2024 (7-0) in the all-time series.
First Round action between Hastings and Friends is scheduled for Thursday at 1 p.m., with the Second Round match between JBU and the winner set for Saturday at 6 p.m. at Alumni Field. All matches will be carried live on the SAC Sports Network and the Urban Edge Network.
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). Catch every Golden Eagle home game and select away games on the SAC Sports Network, available online or for download on your favorite streaming device.
