After bouncing back to close out the regular season with a 7-0 win over Sterling to clinch the no. 2 seed in the 2026 KCAC Men's Soccer Tournament, no. 10 Ottawa hosts no. 7 seed Southwestern on Tuesday, Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Dick Peters Sports Complex.

The Matchup

Ottawa holds a 20-9-3 overall record against Southwestern, with recent results being a bit of a mixed bag for the Braves. After a three-match losing string from 2019-2021, Ottawa has found victory in three of the last four meetings between the teams, winning 6-2 in 2023, 2-1 in 2025 and 3-2 in 2026 to just a 3-2 road loss in 2024.

Last Time Out

After a slight stumble against Friends, Ottawa recovered its offensive stride with Antonio Natalucci picking up a hat trick and Cale Scott adding two goals and two assists as the Braves clinched the no. 2 seed with a 7-0 win over Sterling. Luca Fofonka picked up his first shutout of the season in the win, needing just two first-half saves and a pair of second-half clearances to keep the clean sheet.

Last Time Against Southwestern

The regular season meeting between these two teams was a tale of two halves, as Ottawa controlled a relatively tame first half before a seven-minute flurry of goals in the second half - two for each team - saw the Braves pick up a 3-2 win.

Antonio Natalucci scored his sixth goal of the season in the 12th minute, following a great series of passes in the midfield. The Braves weren't able to capitalize on a trio of late chances in the first half, but were able to hold the Moundbuilders off the scoreboard.

After a 50th-minute equalizer for Southwestern, Ottawa responded in the 52nd minute, but the Moundbuilders were able to equalize again just 16 seconds later.

Ottawa was denied a pair of go-ahead goals by outstanding goalkeeping in the 55th minute, but Slobodan Novicevic was able to find the gamewinner in the 57th.

About Southwestern College

Southwestern had seemed to right the ship following a tough non-conference schedule, but after back-to-back losses to Ottawa and Kansas Wesleyan, the Moundbuilders scraped their way into the playoffs with a 1-0 win over a 1-12 Bethany squad to close out the regular season.

Offensively, five players each have a trio of goals for Southwestern, with Bernabe Lopez the top overall point scorer, adding a pair of assists for eight points on the season. Cooper Bates is the top assist man for Southwestern, with five on the year.

Defensively, Southwestern has allowed 32 goals on the year, with Franco Guazzotti seeing all but 90:00 in goal for the Moundbuilders. He's collected a 1.88 goals-against average over 1485:00 with a decent .726 save percentage, with six shutouts on the year. Wyatt Long briefly interrupted Guazzotti's appearance streak, starting in Southwestern's late-season non-conference match against Hesston, a 1-1 draw that saw him save two of the three shots he faced.

About The 2026 KCAC Men's Soccer Tournament

The anticipated decision day fireworks didn't play out on either half of the bracket, as York was unable to find a result at Oklahoma Wesleyan, leaving the Panthers the no. 4 seed, with Friends, Ottawa and Oklahoma Wesleyan earning the no. 1, no. 2 and no. 3 seeds respectively.

On the bottom half of the bracket, Tabor wasn't able to play its way into contention, finishing with a 2-2 draw at Evangel making Sunday's postponed match between Kansas Wesleyan and Avila moot.

The Falcons will host no. 8 seed Kansas Wesleyan, with Ottawa taking on no. 7 Southwestern. Oklahoma Wesleyan welcomes no. 6 seed McPherson with York hosting no. 5 University of Saint Mary.

Friday's semifinal matches will be hosted by the higher seed, with the 2026 KCAC Men's Soccer Championship set for Wednesday, Nov. 11 at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kan. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

In The Polls

In the final edition of the 2026 STADIONIC NAIA Men's Soccer Poll, Ottawa moved up two spots to no. 10 among members of the National Selection Committee.

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)
Week 4 - No. 12 (NSC - Oct. 14)
Week 5 - No. 10 (NSC - Oct. 28)

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

Earlier this season, 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

Throughout 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.

On The Leaderboard

As Ottawa has settled into a solid run of form this year, a number of players have found their way to the top of the national leaderboards. Biggest among the leaders is Cale Scott, who is tied for second with 22 goals on the year. Antonio Natalucci also moved up the leaderboard and is currently tied for sixth with 11 assists on the season. Scott's five gamewinners put him in the middle of a big deadlock in eighth nationally, while his five penalty kick makes are tied for second-best in the association.

Defensively, Alex Neri's goals-against average of 0.94 is good for 37th nationwide, although a number of players ahead of him in the standings have played in fewer than half the team's matches on the season. He is also in a group of 19 keepers tied for 22nd with five clean sheets on the season.

In The Recordbook

Ottawa's 17-0 win marked a new school record for goals scored and margin of victory, breaking a six-decades-old record from a 16-0 win over Wentworth Military Academy.

Cale Scott has surged into the top ten single-season scorer's list for Ottawa, passing Bence Molnar again and sitting in a four-way tie for third with 22 on the year. Gerald Kolman and Mirko Grgas both hit for 22 during the 1971 campaign, with Grgas repeating his 1968 tally. The top spot on the list is within sight, as Grgas notched 25 goals in 1969 and Mike Custer tallied 28 goals during the 1978 campaign. Antonio Natalucci wrestled his way into the top 10 on the assists list with 11, needing just one more during postseason play to take sole possession of ninth from Alonso Basauri and Jeff Cullina.

Scott (23; 4th) and Natalucci (14; t-9th) are both firmly settled in the top-10 for career assists, with Slobodan Novicevic passing Bence Molnar for fourth with 25. The trio is also well-established on the goal-scoring side, with Novicevic leapfrogging Kyler Grimes with 41 tallies on his career, but still ranks fifth as Scott edges out the Serbian for fourth with 44 goals for his career. Natalucci officially edged someone out of the top-10 career list, claiming sole possession of ninth from Lewis Verdouw with 21 goals.

Defensively, Alex Neri has dropped to second on the single-season leaderboard with a 0.94 goals-against average and is part of a five-man deadlock with five shutouts on the year.

Ottawa has rebounded to a .806 winning percentage after the regular-season setback at Friends, good for fifth overall. The Braves are still on pace, however, to challenge the best-ever winning percentage, set by the 1971 team's 0.868 (16-2-1) mark.

The 2026 squad's offensive output is also among the best all-time, with the Braves tallying 181 points (62 g, 57 a) heading into postseason play, and the 57 assists marking a new single-season high. Ottawa's 17 goals allowed is currently sixth-best all-time, although two of the previous stingiest seasons saw Ottawa play just 14 (1968) and 16 (1981) matches.

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."

Season-long fans may have spotted an additional upgrade at the complex, as the scoreboard in the northwest corner of the field has been refurbished in anticipation of hosting an NAIA National Championship Opening Round in the near future.