After extending its win streak to seven overall and five in KCAC action to further cement their hold on first place in the league, no. 9 Ottawa men's soccer hosts McPherson College on Saturday at Dick Peters Sports Complex. Kickoff for the match is set for 3:30 p.m.

The Matchup

Although Ottawa has been on the wrong side of the series against McPherson (18-25-0 through 34 matches), the Braves come in to Saturday on a four-match winning streak. After winning the regular season matches in 2023 and 2024, Ottawa swept McPherson in both the regular season (7-0) and KCAC Tournament (2-1) in 2025. The current win streak broke an 11-match losing streak for the Black-and-Gold extending back to 2013. Over the previous 34 matches, one of the biggest keys to victory for Ottawa has been to score multiple goals; only twice in Ottawa's 18 wins did the Braves fail to score two or more goals - hitting for seven on two occasions (7-0 win - Sept. 21, 1991; 7-0 win - Oct. 4, 2025) - and only once failing to win (4-3 loss - Oct. 11, 2014) when scoring multiple.

Last Time Out

With the exception of a blip in the 28th minute, no.16 Ottawa was absolutely dominant against Avila University on Wednesday. Fresh off his third KCAC Offensive Player of the Week nod and first career NAIA Player of the Week acknowledgement, Cale Scott racked four goals - including his fifth gamewinner - to set a new career best with 14 on the season, while Mateo Trigo added a dagger in the 87th minute.

Scott opened the scoring in the 24th minute, beating Jackson Mayer top corner near post from a near-impossible angle on the goal line, then put the Braves back in front with a 33rd-minute near post finish.

In the second half, Scott victimized the Eagles with back-to-back goals separated by just 32 seconds, as he went five-hole on Mayer in the 78th minute after a pinpoint long cross from Juan Lopez-Arteaga and finished near post in the 79th after Trigo found him on the run after Ottawa forced a turnover off the kickoff.

Putting the game safely to bed in the 87th, Trigo collected a pass from Antonio Natalucci then danced across the top of the six-yard box, getting Mayer to bite on his third feint before finishing with the outside of his right foot.

About McPherson College

After dropping a 1-0 result to Evangel, McPherson has recovered for a three-match winning streak to sit fourth in the KCAC standings. Despite their 4-1 record through five league matches, the Bulldogs took on a tough non-conference schedule and bring a 5-3-1 overall record into Saturday's contest.

Offensively, McPherson has tallied 30 goals on the year, but that total is skewed heavily by a 7-0 win over Sterling and an 11-1 win at Bethany. Similarly, the distribution of Tabor's offense is very top-heavy, as Nathan van Wyck has been responsible for 11 of the 30 goals on the year for the Bulldogs, with no other player contributing more than three. And of van Wyck's goals, six were recorded in the wins over Sterling (2) and Bethany.

Alvaro Marchal has seen the bulk of time in goal for McPherson, posting a goals-against average of 0.80 in 787:47 across nine starts. He holds a save percentage of .806, allowing seven goals on 36 shots. Mauro Soria saw a bit of cleanup time against Bethany, but was not tested.

In The Polls

Following an outstanding finish to the 2025 season, Ottawa debuted at no. 16 in the NAIA Men's Soccer Preseason Top 25 for 2026. The Braves were one of two KCAC squads in the top 25, joining no. 9-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan. Despite a 1-0 upset over no. 3 MidAmerica Nazarene, Ottawa slid two spots in the first regular-season edition of the poll, landing tied for 18th. The Braves were joined in the no. 18 spot by free-falling LSU-Shreveport, which dropped 6 spots despite a 2-1 record then followed it up with a 4-4 draw against Oklahoma Wesleyan. Back-to-back wins returned Ottawa to the no. 16 spot in the final version of the poll taken from voting by the coaches, before a monstrous upset of then no. 1 Oklahoma Wesleyan helped the Braves (no. 9) leapfrog the Eagles (no. 12) in the first edition of the poll produced by the National Selection Committee. 

2026 STADIONIC NAIA Men's Soccer Poll
Preseason - No. 16 (Coaches - Aug. 19)
Week 1 - No. 18-tie (Coaches - Sept. 2)
Week 2 - No. 16 (Coaches - Sept. 16)
Week 3 - No. 9 (NSC - Oct. 1)

NAIA Players of the Week

For the first time since 2022, Ottawa saw a familiar name among the cascade of Tuesday emails from the national office, as Alex Neri was recognized as the NAIA Defensive Player of the Week for week 1. Neri was rock solid for the Black and Gold in Ottawa's 1-0 upset over no. 3 MidAmerica Nazarene, securing five saves including a game-changer in the 89th minute.

And in unsurprising news following the duo's outstanding performances, Neri was joined by Cale Scott in a first-ever for Ottawa, as the duo swept the national honors for Week 5. 

Scott was simply dominant in both contests on the week, scoring three goals and adding three assists. His first goal of the week proved to be the gamewinner - his fourth of the year - for Ottawa against Oklahoma Wesleyan, a 20th-minute penalty kick sent top shelf. He added a pair of assists in the second half as well for Ottawa to close out the win. Against Tabor, he again opened the scoring for the Braves before assisting Slobodan Novicevic on the gamewinner, adding a second-half goal, again from the penalty spot. The redshirt junior sits just three goals shy of his career best with 10 on the season, and he also sits atop the scoring sheet alongside Simon Kindt and Antonio Natalucci for Ottawa with four assists.

For Neri, his second nod of the season comes as he recorded four saves and demonstrated outstanding control in the defensive third against the Eagles, extending his shutout streak to 366:16 against Tabor before a fluke goal against the run of play. He immediately reestablished his shutout string, recording a pair of saves over the next 52:21 before yielding to Luca Fofonka for the final 17:40 of the contest. On the season, he has posted a 7-0 1 record with a goals-against average of 0.82 spread across 657:20. The graduate student also boasts four shutouts on the season with a save percentage of .778.

2026 NAIA Players of the Week
Week 1 - Alex Neri (Defensive)
Week 5 - Alex Neri (Defensive)
Week 5 - Cale Scott (Offensive)

KCAC Players of the Week

As predicted in last week's preview, Cale Scott made Ottawa history by claiming his third consecutive KCAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week nod, helping the Braves to a 3-0 upset of no. 1 Oklahoma Wesleyan and a 5-1 win at Tabor College.

Also, for the first time since 2020, Ottawa swept the league honors, as Scott was joined by Alex Neri in claiming the top spot on the ballots. The previous sweep also involved the Scott family, as elder brother (and current assistant coach) Cain Scott was joined by Gage Powers in earning offensive and defensive honors, respectively.

2026 KCAC Players of the Week
Week 1 - Alex Neri (Defensive)
Week 3 - Cale Scott (Offensive)
Week 4 - Cale Scott (Offensive)
Week 5 - Alex Neri (Defensive)
Week 5 - Cale Scott (Offensive)

Send It Like Scott

Through the early part of the season, Ottawa has found solid offensive production throughout the front line, averaging better than two goals per game. And although much of the production has been through the run of play, Cale Scott has proven to be exceptionally dangerous on the free kick.

Twice this season, the redshirt freshman has drawn game-winning blood from free kicks in dangerous positions. Against then no. 3 MidAmerica Nazarene, Ottawa earned a free kick 20 yards from goal on the left corner of the 18-yard box. Scott delivered an inch-perfect curling ball inside the far post and out of the reach of MNU's goalkeeper.

Then against (RV) Baker, the Black-and-Gold earned a free kick on the right side of the 18-yard box, just inside 25 yards out. Scott was again inch-perfect, this time dialing top corner up and around a five-man wall for the Wildcats.

Welcome (Back) Home

After playing the past several seasons at AdventHealth Field, Ottawa returns to the Dick Peters Sports Complex for the 2026 season.

"We are excited to be returning home to Dick Peters Sports Complex," said head coach James Cottage. "Playing on a soccer specific field, a field that is longer and wider, it will really match what we're trying to achieve. We want to play with fast wingers that can get into one on one opportunities, but this field will help defenders as well."

In addition to the benefits for the team, the fan experience is also expected to be improved with the move to Peters.

"With the move, fans can be closer to the field and really get up close and be that extra bit of support for our team," added Cottage. "I want to make it feel like a home, a place where teams look at it and go 'Oh, we've got to go to Ottawa. We have to play on that big field and it's going to be a mess.' That's what we're looking for."