WICHITA, Kan. - Despite jumping a pair of spots in the final edition of the 2026 STADIONIC Men's Soccer Poll earlier in the day, no. 10 Ottawa could not find an offensive rhythm on Wednesday night, falling 2-0 at Friends University.
Friends put Ottawa to the test early, with Antrea Michael Xibilia forcing
Alex Neri into a save in the 19th minute and Diego Marin challenging in the 20th.
The Falcons were able to find goal in the 27th minute, earning a throw on the right wing. Greyson York threw the ball in and received it back on a one-touch pass before sending a cross just above the six-yard box. Xibilia managed to elude his defender in the crowd and connect to put Friends up 1-0.
Xibilia nearly doubled the Falcons lead on the stroke of the 32nd minute, but Neri was able to look the header into his hands.
Ottawa was finally able to find a chance in the 49th minute, but
Simon Kindt's shot was saved well by Keagan Lewis.
Lorenzo Lamola's header looked to be going in at the far post in the 54th minute, but Lewis managed to collect the effort.
In the 67th minute,
Sam Hatswell had perhaps the best chance of the night for Ottawa, as the Braves earned a free kick on the right wing. From the service, Hatswell nodded the ball toward the top right corner of the goal, but Lewis managed to fly across from the near post to make a miraculous save.
As Ottawa was chasing an equalizer, Friends was able to capitalize and double its lead, picking off a clearance pass in midfield. Eric Huerta sent Marin through the back line, leaving Neri to do his best to cut off as much of the goal as possible but not enough as Marin curled the ball with his right foot inside the post.
With the two-goal cushion, Friends was content to let Ottawa attack, but the best chance for the Braves didn't come until the 86th minute, as
Mateo Trigo's shot was collected by Lewis.
Despite being locked out of contention for the team's first regular season title since 1971, Ottawa is still poised to finish with the number two seed heading into the KCAC postseason tournament as they host Sterling College to wrap up the regular season. Kickoff from the Dick Peters Sports Complex is set for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
