DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – The No. 21 ranked Spring Arbor University men's soccer team saw its historic season come to a close in the second round of the 2016 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship with a 3-0 loss to No. 8 Union College on Tuesday.

The Cougars, who were making their first appearance in the sweet 16 round of the national tournament since 1977, end their season with a 15-4-4 record. The 15 wins were the most by the program in a single season since the 2012 campaign.

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: #21 Spring Arbor 0, #8 Union 3

LOCATION: Seacrest Soccer Complex | Delray Beach, Fla.

RECORDS: Spring Arbor 15-4-4, Union 19-2-2

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Union struck first in the 25th minute as the ball was thrown into the box where a Cougar defender tried to clear it but instead headed it back toward the goal where Bulldog forward, Louis Nuttal was waiting with a header of his own. A beautifully placed ball beat the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Cobi Piper.
• Spring Arbor, playing with the wind in its face, had a couple quality chances in the first half. Their best opportunity came when junior Jake Sterling turned with the ball at his feet from 25 yards out and let loose on what looked to be a game tying shot, but Union goalie Marcelo Mercuri made a diving save to keep the Bulldog lead intact.
• Union, the champions of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) held the slight advantage in the first half outshooting the Cougars 8-5 with three on frame to SAU's two.
• The second half was back and forth throughout. Both teams showed quality chances at times. Spring Arbor let a couple opportunities slip away as it had Union on its heels midway through the period. The Cougars' inability to finish at that juncture of the match would prove costly.
• After a bad turnover in their own end, the Cougars were scrambling to get back on defense. Nuttal took the ball down the right side and crossed it to a streaking Edwin Garcia who finished near post to beat Piper and give Union the 2-0 lead.
• Union would tack one on just a 1:30 later as Justin Wilkinson would give the Bulldogs the 3-0 victory.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• Spring Arbor was plagued by its inability to finish in this contest, which is something it had not struggled with in some time. It is the first time the Cougars have been shutout in a month and a half, since Mount Vernon Nazarene University beat SAU 1-0.
• Spring Arbor was outshot 13-12 in the contest. Union put six balls on goal to SAU's three.
• Piper and Mercuri both ended the night with three saves apiece.

FOR THE BULLDOGS

• Union was led by midfielder Louis Nuttal and forward Edwin Garcia who both ended the night with a goal and an assist.
• Josh Arberry led the Bulldogs with three shots in his 43 minutes of play.
• Mercuri was only truly tested a couple times and both times he came up with great saves to keep the clean sheet.
• Union advances to the quarterfinals where it will play the defending national champion Rio Grande (Ohio) tomorrow at 4 p.m.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH NATE MILLER

• "I am beyond proud of this team and how they accomplished what they did. They made history and have lifted SAU soccer to a new level. I am eternally grateful to our senior class - they changed everything. They are responsible for this transformation of culture and level of play."
• "Michael, Adam, and Cobi are the best leaders and captains I have been around. They truly believed we could go all the way, and that belief and mentality is what this team has been about."
• "We are disappointed not to make it further, but will also reflect later on perhaps how great this season was. Go bears"

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