After dispatching Southwestern 3-1 in Tuesday's quarterfinal, no. 2 seed Ottawa University hosts no. 3 seed Oklahoma Wesleyan in the 2026 KCAC Men's Soccer Tournament Semifinals. Friday's kickoff at the Dick Peters Sports Complex is set for 2 p.m.

The Matchup

The 31st meeting between the teams comes with a history that has been somewhat fleeting for Ottawa, as the Braves are 5-20-5 all time against the Eagles. In recent history, however, the Braves have found a reasonable bit of success against OKWU, with the 2025's 1-1 draw sparking a seven-match winning streak that saw the Braves go undefeated in league play and this year's 3-0 upset giving Ottawa a higher postseason seed and the opportunity to avenge previous postseason struggles.

Ottawa has not won in five previous postseason meetings between the teams, but this year the Braves come into the match not only seeded above Oklahoma Wesleyan, but also ranked higher in the national polls than the Eagles, holding the no. 10 spot to OKWU's no. 12 ranking.

Friday's meeting also marks the first chance for back-to-back wins since 1984 (Oct. 25, 1983 - 3-1 home; Sept. 22, 1984 - 3-1 away) by Ottawa.

Last Time Out

Ottawa controlled the entirety of Tuesday's quarterfinal match against Southwestern, with Cale Scott and Mateo Trigo scoring first half goals for the Braves and Scott answering a Southwestern College goal with his 24th of the season in the 87th minute.

The Braves posted a 9-2 edge in shots on goal and held a 9-3 margin in corner kicks.

Last Time Against Oklahoma Wesleyan

In the regular-season meeting between these teams, then-no. 16 Ottawa took the momentum from an early defensive stop and converted it into a big 3-0 upset of no. 1 Oklahoma Wesleyan, altering the trajectory of the season for both teams.

Alex Neri was commanding on three early chances for OKWU, diving low and to his right in the first minute to stop a shot by Chafik El Idrissi, then punching a dangerous inswinging corner from Nasreddine Benbella clear of danger in the ninth.

And in the 13th minute, Neri read a dangerous one-on-one situation with Ronardo Burgher perfectly and charged to cut the angle well.

Cale Scott earned and converted a penalty kick for the Braves in the 20th minute, nearly doubling Ottawa's lead after forcing a turnover on the ensuing kickoff.

Leo Mautret put Ottawa up 2-0 with a finish in the 69th minute and Slobodan Novicevic took advantage of holding in an offside position on the initial long pass to Scott from Simon Kindt to put the final touches on the upset as his shot was partially saved by Marko Rodic before rolling tauntingly into the back of the net.

About Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Coming into Friday's contest, Oklahoma Wesleyan has suffered just one loss on the season, the aforementioned 3-0 regular-season defeat by Ottawa. The Eagles have a potent offense, with Mateja Bozic (17 g, 1 a) and Nasreddine Benbella (11 g, 6 a) leading the team. Three other goalscorers are within a sneeze of double digits, with Marco Vidan tallying eight on the year and Eguzki Hashimoto and Ronardo Burgher each scoring seven.

Marko Rodic has seen the vast bulk of action for Oklahoma Wesleyan on the year, compiling a goals-against average of 0.63 across 1427:12, and a save percentage of 0.800 in 17 appearances - all starts - and nine shutouts on the year. Pedro Nakano is the only other keeper with significant minutes in goal, with a goals-against of 0.00 across 211:51 and a perfect save percentage, albeit on just three shots faced. He's started in a pair of his five appearances, going the full 90:00 against Sterling to earn his lone shutout of the year.

About The 2026 KCAC Men's Soccer Tournament

Three of the four quarterfinal matches finished as expected, with the higher seed advancing. No. 1 seed Friends and no. 3 seed Oklahoma Wesleyan each dispatched their opponents with shutout wins - 4-0 over Kansas Wesleyan and 5-0 over McPherson respectively - with no. 2 seed Ottawa downing Southwestern 3-1. The lone quarterfinal match not contested on Tuesday also marked the lone upset of the first round, as no. 5 seed University of Saint Mary scratched out a 1-0 win over no. 4 York in a weather-postponed Wednesday match.

The earlier 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 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.

Tickets will be required for all matches and are available for purchase through Hometown Ticketing

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, now in sole possession of second with 24 goals on the year. Antonio Natalucci also moved up the leaderboard and is currently tied for fourth with 12 assists on the season. Scott's five gamewinners put him in the middle of a big deadlock in ninth nationally, while his six penalty kick makes are top in the association, tied with Jose Quiel from Friends.

Defensively, Alex Neri's goals-against average of 0.95 is good for 37th nationwide, although several 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 17 keepers tied for 29th 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 in sole possession of third with 24. 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 and recently took sole possession of ninth from Alonso Basauri and Jeff Cullina with his 12th of the season.

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 fourth as Scott edges out the Serbian for third with 46 goals for his career. Natalucci officially edged someone out of the top-10 career list as well this year and currently ranks eighth with 25 career goals, passing Aaron Kavanaugh's 23.

Defensively, Alex Neri has dropped to second on the single-season leaderboard with a 0.95 goals-against average and is part of a five-man deadlock with five shutouts on the year.

Ottawa has rebounded to a .816 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 officially the best all-time, with the Braves tallying 189 points (65 g, 59 a), with the 59 assists marking a new single-season high. Ottawa's 18 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.