Men's Soccer 11/18/2025 5:02:00 PM

(21) Men's Soccer Set to Take On Harris-Stowe in NAIA Opening Round

OTTAWA, Kan. - The Ottawa men's soccer opens up their NAIA Tournament campaign against AMC opponent Harris-Stowe in the opening round.

Ottawa is 13-2-6 on the season and 10-0-3 in KCAC play.
The Braves are coming off a 0-5 loss to (1) Oklahoma Wesleyan in the KCAC Tournament championship game last Wednesday in Wichita.
In that game, Oklahoma Wesleyan scored four goals in the first half, and added a fifth early in the second. David Martinez made three saves in goal for Ottawa.
Antonio Natalucci leads Ottawa in goals with fourteen, while Alonso Basauri leads the Braves in assists with seventeen.
Harris-Stowe comes into this matchup with a 10-6-3 overall record and a 4-1-1 record in American Midwest Conference play.
The Hornets are the winners of their last three, winning the AMC Tournament as a three seed. They beat Mission 2-0 at home in the quarterfinals, and then beat second and first seeded Williams Baptist and Columbia (MO) on the road in the semifinals, 3-2 and 2-1.
Marion De La Fuente is Harris-Stowe's leading goalscorer with nine goals, and Leonardo Mori leads the Hornets in assists with seven.
Ottawa and Harris-Stowe have met just three times ever, with Ottawa leading the series 2-1-0.
The last meeting between the two programs came in 1979, a 3-2 win for Harris-Stowe in St. Louis. Ottawa won 1-0 in each of the first two meetings, those coming in 1970 and 1971.
Ottawa is 13-0-3 in games where they have scored at least one goal.
The Braves are 13-0-1 when they have scored at least two goals.
Ottawa is 6-0-2 in shutouts, and 5-0-3 when allowing just one goal.
Ottawa is 1-1-0 in neutral site games and is 6-2-3 away from home.
Harris-Stowe is yet to play a neutral site game, but is 6-4-3 in their road games.
Alonso Basauri's seventeen assists puts him second in the NAIA in that category.
Ottawa is playing in their fifth NAIA National Tournament and their second in three years.
The Braves are 5-5-0 in NAIA Tournament games, but are just 1-5-0 in games with the championship still to play for.
Ottawa's most successful appearance came in 1971, beating Newark College 2-1 in the quarterfinals before dropping their semifinal game to Davis & Elkins 0-2. The Braves rebounded with a 1-0 win over Westmont in the third-place game.
Ottawa's most recent NAIA Tournament appearance came in 2023, which saw them fall 0-1 to Indiana Tech in the opening round. That
game was also played in Columbia hosted by Lindsey Wilson, albeit at a different field. Indiana Tech's starting goalkeeper in the game was current Ottawa goalkeeper David Martinez, who made three saves in the Warriors' clean sheet victory.
Harris-Stowe is set to make their fourth appearance at the NAIA National Tournament, the previous three coming in 1998, 1999, and 2000.
The Hornets are 3-2-2 in NAIA National Tournament games.
Harris-Stowe's most successful NAIA Tournament appearance was their most recent one in 2000, the first-seeded Hornets beating Virginia Intermont 5-0 in the round of 16 and Newman 4-2 in the quarterfinals before falling 0-3 to eventual tournament champions Lindsey Wilson in the semifinals.
This will be both teams' furthest trip east this season. Ottawa's previous easternmost game came on August 30 at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa as part of a two game Iowa trip.
Harris-Stowe is making their second trip to the Bluegrass State, the first one coming on September 10 at Brescia University in Owensboro.
Four of Ottawa's 21 games so far came against teams that qualified for the NAIA National Tournament.
Harris-Stowe has not played a team that qualified for NAIA Tournament, though they played Lincoln (MO) on September 12, who qualified for the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
The two teams have one common opponent this season: Central Methodist. Ottawa tied the Eagles 1-1 at home, while Harris-Stowe beat them 2-1 on the road Thos games came in a five-day stretch, Ottawa taking them on in both teams' season openers on August 22, and Harris-Stowe in their second game on August 26.
Ottawa is 3-0-1 against teams from Missouri this season. Harris-Stowe has not played a team from Kansas since September 4, 2023, a 1-0 win at Bethany.
Ottawa has not played an American Midwest Conference opponent since September 7, 2022, when they beat then-members William Woods 6-0 at home.
Harris-Stowe's last game against a KCAC opponent was their aforementioned 1-0 victory at Bethany in 2023.
Four players on Ottawa's postseason roster also logged minutes for the Braves in their 2023 loss to Indiana Tech, bringing their total to five players with NAIA Tournament experience.
Harris-Stowe has one such player: Mario De La Fuente, who appeared with Mid-America Christian last season.