Men's Soccer Awaits First Round Opponent at NAIA National Tournament

OLATHE, Kan. - After enjoying the opening night banquet of the 45th annual men's soccer NAIA National Tournament, the 7th-seeded UM Rams were quickly brought back to the task at hand as head coach Peter Fuller gathered his troops for their first of what will hopefully be seven evening team meetings.

Summarizing the defending national champion's mission, Coach Fuller made it clear that their tournament was built around Friday's 5 p.m. game against Columbia College (Mo.). Entering the tournament with a 15-6 overall record the 10th seeded Cougars of Columbia College will be the first of a potential four games that the Rams must traverse if they are too once again lay claim to the national title.

Of the two schools that both teams have faced during the regular season (Baker University and Mid-Continent College) both teams have come away with nearly identical results as both teams beat Baker by one and lost to Mid-Continent by a goal.

Presenting Mobile with potentially tough match-ups on the field the Cougars have a well-balanced offense in which as many as three forwards can see significant playing time or play at the same time. Junior Juan Pablo Irerra leads Columbia with 16 goals and 9 assists on the season. Forwards Ben Boehner (6 goals and 5 assists) and Juan Pagoda (6 goals and 5 assists) round out the attacking third as both have 17 points on the season.

In the midfield, Stephen McMullen, a freshman from Coatbridge, Scotland is the team's second leading scorer with 11 goals this season.

To come away with a win the Rams' All-American defense and goalkeeper Tommi Sarkinnen must reproduce the effort put forth last Saturday in the region 13 final. Holding Auburn University-Montgomery (AUM) to only eight shots on the night, the Rams defeated two-time defending region 13 champions 3-1.

Offensively Mobile will once again look towards the continued scoring by committee that has been indicative of this year's 15-4 squad. Leading the team with nine goals and eight assists, Darren Toby will be the focal point of the Rams' offense that has seven other players who have combined for more than ten points on the season.

On a hot streak as of late, freshman Trinidadian Dean Logan leads the Rams with ten goals.

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