The Bryan men's soccer team hosts Spring Arbor College (Mich.) Saturday at 2 p.m. in a first round match in.the NAIA national tournament.
The host Lions 16-2-3) who finished No.11 in the nation defeated three, top 25 opponents during the regular season.
The Lions have outscored the teams they’ve faced 56-16 and went through the regular-season with only one loss. Bryan’s back line has been anchored by Jordan Dunstan who earned the honors of AAC Defensive Player of the Year, and Brad Spooner has been a key role in the Lion’s attack this year as he was recognized as the AAC Freshman of the Year.
Bryan had four All-Conference First Team and two Second Team members.
Spring Arbor has downed one top-25 opponent this season, tied (at the time) 19th ranked Indiana Wesleyan University 2-2, and fell 1-5 to (at the time) the No. 5 team in the country and 2014 National Champion, Davenport University (Mich.). The Cougars prevailed against Marian University (Ind.), Indiana Wesleyan, and Bethel College (Ind.) to take the Crossroads League crown.
Common Opponents: Bryan and Spring Arbor have two teams they’ve both faced this season. The Lions battled conference school Bluefield College (Va.) and came away with a 2-0 win, while the Cougars registered a 2-1 victory over the Rams. Both sides battled West Virginia Institute of Technology while they were receiving votes, and Bryan scored three goals to their one for the win but Spring Arbor escaped with a scoreless tie after double overtime.
This is Spring Arbor’s 5th appearance in the NAIA Championship and the 4th for Bryan. The last time the Cougars were represented at the Men’s Soccer Championship was in 2012, while it was 2013 for the Lions.
Bryan College Sports Information will be providing live stream and live stats of Saturday’s soccer game.
Price for the game are: Adults $5, Students $1, and Ages 10 & under are free.