DAYTON, Tenn. – The No. 21 ranked Spring Arbor University men's soccer team traveled to Bryan College to face the No. 11 Lions with a trip to the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship final site on the line.

After surrendering a pair of first half goals, Spring Arbor rallied with two in the second to force overtime. There, sophomore Janum Sailor would deliver one of the biggest goals in program history, giving the Cougars a 3-2 victory and the team's first NAIA postseason win in nearly 40 years.

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: #21 Spring Arbor 3, #11 Bryan 2 (OT)

LOCATION: Dayton, Tenn.

RECORDS: Spring Arbor 15-3-4, Bryan 16-3-3

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first 15 minutes of the match was played relatively close to the vest as these two teams tried to feel each other out. Bryan then broke the scoreless tie in the 17th minute as Brad Spooner found Charlie Clarke, who finished with a well-placed chip shot over Cobi Piper's head from just inside the 18-yard box.
• After the Lions struck first blood, Spring Arbor spent the next 25 minutes trying to keep the deficit at 1-0 as the home team was in full attack mode. In the 39th minute, Bryan found the back of the net again on a shot from Cooper Loftin.
• The Cougars came out in the second half playing inspired soccer as the coaching staff made some great adjustments. Spring Arbor put the Lions on their heels early and finally cracked the puzzle that was Bryan's defense five minutes into the second frame. Janum Sailor found the back of the net for his ninth goal of the season and cut the deficit in half.
• The Cougars' offensive attack continued to wreak havoc on the BC defense as a beautiful give and go from Kevin Veeder and Jacob Crull at the top of the 18 resulted in Crull tying the game up in the 69th minute.
• The game would go back and forth for the final 20 minutes but, ultimately, regulation would not be enough to settle the contest. The Cougars headed to overtime with the score remaining 2-2.
• In the extra session, it did not take Spring Arbor long to punch its ticket to Florida. The Cougars earned an early corner kick that Crull played into the box. The ball bounced around before finding Sailor who buried it in the bottom corner clinching a trip for the Cougars to the final site.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• After being outplayed in the first half, the Cougars dominated the second half and overtime. Spring Arbor outshot the Lions 10-6, putting five shots on goal compared to Bryan's two.
• The Cougars erased a two goal deficit for the first time all season to earn their opening round win over Bryan.
• With the win, Spring Arbor advances to the NAIA Sweet 16, the farthest any team has gone since 1977 when the team made it to the championship finals.

FOR THE FOES

• Bryan ended the night with 13 shots led by Clarke, who had four.
• The Lions lose two games in row for the first time all year after dropping their conference tournament championship game in similar fashion to Union College.
• Bryan ends the year with a 16-3-3 record.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH NATHAN MILLER

• "I'm delighted for our players. We were phenomenal in the second half. The first half was difficult and odd in ways. We worked very hard but made some big mistakes and our top guys just didn't execute well. I thought emotionally Mo kept us in the game and lead from the front."
• "Then, what can you say, it was an incredible response after halftime and we just took it to them in every way. The guys shattered their bodies and did a great job adjusting to how we knew we could break them down. I'm just so proud of the team's unity, mentality, and work rate. These boys deserve it."
• "Bryan is a very, very talented team, and to be able to assert ourselves on them was impressive. The guys will enjoy this moment for sure, then we look forward to preparing and traveling really well to the final 16."

UP NEXT

Spring Arbor continues its dream season at the national tournament final site in Delray Beach, Florida. The Cougars will meet No. 8 Union College (Ky.) (18-2-2) on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 1:30 p.m. 

Men's Soccer Contact: Chris Bauman | 517-750-6504 | christopher.bauman@arbor.edu
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