CMU -4

Tabor - 0

The No. 1 seeded Central Methodist men’s soccer program began its national tournament run with a 4-0 victory over No. 4 seeded Tabor Thursday afternoon in the Opening Round in Columbia. 

With the win, Central improved to 20-0 overall while the Blue Jays finish their season at 12-8-1. The Eagles also reach the 20-win plateau for the fourth consecutive season.

The teams nearly entered the halftime break scoreless, before Central struck first in the 40th minute. Graduate Jesse Bank scored the first goal of the match on a header with the assist coming from junior Jayton Johnson on a throw-in. CMU would enter the halftime break with a 1-0 advantage over the Blue Jays.

The Eagles pushed their lead to 3-0, as senior Billy Nzojyibwami tallied the second and third goals of the match in the 56th and 66th minutes.

Freshman Vitor Antelo cemented the victory with his second goal of the year in the 85th minute. 

Overall, Central tallied 39 total shots and 17 on goal, with senior Victor Luengo leading the offense with nine total shots. Sophomore Theo Klein recorded six shots, and both Nzojyibwami, and freshman Stefano Campisi each tallied five. 

CMU's defense held the Blue Jays without a shot for the entirety of the match, recording their 13th shut out of the season. 

CMU - 3

Rio Grande - 2

The No. 1 seeded Central Methodist men’s soccer program won a thriller over No. 2 seeded Rio Grande in the Opening Round Championship of the Columbia Bracket, 3-2 Saturday afternoon in Columbia. 

With the win, Central improves its perfect record to 21-0 and advances to the NAIA National Championship Final Site for the fourth-straight season. The Red Storm ends their season with a 17-2-1 mark. 

The Eagles jumped out in front in the first nine minutes of the match on junior Alessandro Salvadego's 21st goal of the season. Central’s defense kept Rio Grande out of the net for the entirety of the first half, taking a 1-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. 

Rio Grande would put pressure on Central early in the second half, scoring two goals in a span of four minutes including an own goal by the Eagles. 

Trailing 2-1 with under 18 minutes remaining, junior Christian Sanchez evened the match with his seventh goal of the season on the assist from freshman Isaac Johnson. 

Less than six minutes later, senior Marcos German sent a ball into the box which found the foot of  sophomore Tom Irion, who fired the ball into the lower-left corner of the net for the game-winner. CMU's defense held off the Red Storm's offense in the final 15 minutes to preserve a thrilling 3-2 match victory. 

Both sides were fairly even in shots taken, as Central finished the afternoon with 20 shots including nine on goal, while Rio Grande tallied 15 shots with seven on goal. 

Salvadego led the CMU offense with seven shots including three on goal, while Sanchez and sophomore Theo Klein each recorded three shots. 

Sophomore Stefano Camerlengo earned his 17th win of the season, playing all 90 minutes between the posts and picking up four saves. 

Central has earned a first-round bye at the Final Site and will face the winner of No. 8 MidAmerica Nazarene vs. No. 9 Ottawa (Ariz.) in the national quarterfinals Thursday, Dec. 2 at 1 p.m. (CST) at the Jack Allen Soccer Complex in Decatur, Alabama.