Dordt will play in the NAIA National Championship field at the final site in Sioux City, Iowa beginning Tuesday, November 27. The Defenders play a single pool play match each day Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The top-two finishers in each of the eight, four-team pools advance to a 16-team elimination bracket with that play beginning on Friday.
Dordt will face Reinhardt (Georgia) on Tuesday, November 27 at 8:00 pm and Corban (Oregon) on Wednesday, November 28 at 6:00 pm. Dordt concludes pool play at 8:00 on Thursday, November 29 against The Master’s (California).
Reinhardt is making it’s second appearance in the NAIA National Championship field and sports a 34-6 overall record and that Eagles were a perfect 19-0 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. The Eagles played Hastingss early in the season and lost 3-2 to the Broncos and also faced defending national champion Lindsey Wilson in August and lost a 3-0 decision. Brian Goodhind’s team won 20 matches in a row from August 29 to October 26 before losing to Huston Tillotson. Reinhardt followed it’s 19-0 match record in conference play with a sweep of four straight foes in the post-season conference tournament, culminating the championship run with a 3-0 victory over Milligan in the title match.
Corban is in its third straight NAIA Championship field under coach Kim McClain. The Salem, Oregon based school is 21-11 this season and posted a 15-5 record in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. The Warriors absorbed five losses in its first seven outings and fell to Morningside, Northwestern, Dordt nad Grand View in a very difficult stretch from August 22-24.
The Master’s is playing in its third NAIA National Championship field and its first since back to back appearances in 2012 and 2013. The Mustangs posted a 29-5 record under coach Allan Vince and was 16-2 in the Golden State Athletic Conference. The Master’s in-league losses were to Westmont and Menlo. The Master’s then came back to avenge those losses on November 10 in conference tournament play.
Dordt has a 27-2 record this fall and finished 16-0 at the conclusion of the GPAC season. Dordt’s last loss was a 3-2 decision at Grand View on September 7. Dordt’s other loss is a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Rocky Mountain.
Dordt is in Pool E and the champion and runner-up will advance out of pool play and will face the champion and runner-up of Pool F. Those matches will be at either 11:15 AM or 3:45 PM on Friday, November 30. The quarterfinal brackets are scheduled for 6:00 pm and 8:15 pm Friday night. The semifinals will get going at 11:00 am on Saturday with the championship match at 7:00 pm.
