Clarksville, Ark.-The University of the Ozarks men's soccer team has advanced to the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament for the twenty-first time in program history and the eighth straight season under head coach Aaron Brueckner.
The Eagles (7-9-0) will travel to Richardson, Texas, to take on UT Dallas October 31 for the quarterfinals. Match time is 7:00 p.m. The Eagles secured the five seed in the tournament. The winner will advance to the semi-finals November 2 to play Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas. The Championship match is November 4. In October, the Eagles and the Comets batteld it out with UT Dallas winning 3-1.
"Advancing to the ASC tournament has always been an expectation for the program," said Brueckner. "We always find a way to get in. Our guys don't wake up every morning at 6:00 a.m. for training just to make the tournament. We are looking forward to the challenge ahead and competing against the best for an ASC title."
The winner of the ASC Championship Tournament is declared the conference champion and earns automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship.
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2023 ASC Men's Soccer Championship Tournament
Quarterfinals / Tuesday, October 31
Higher Seeded Team is Host Institution
Game 1: #5 Ozarks at #4 UT Dallas
Game 2: #6 Howard Payne at #3 Hardin-Simmons
Semifinal and Final Rounds
Host Institution: Mary Hardin-Baylor | Belton, Texas
Semifinals / Thursday, November 2
Game 3: #1 Mary Hardin-Baylor vs. Winner of Game 1
Game 4: #2 Concordia Texas vs. Winner of Game 2
Championship Final / Saturday, November 4
Match 5: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
ASC Preview
No. 1 seed Mary Hardin-Baylor (9-4-2, 7-1) picked up its third straight ASC Regular Season Championship and will host the semifinal and championship rounds. The Cru will play the winner of Hardin-Simmons and Howard Payne. This will be the 17th appearance for UMHB, marking 10 straight dating back to 2014. The Cru have gone 13-10-4 in the tournament all-time with two wins last season outscoring teams 11-1, including 6-0 over LeTourneau in the championship.
No. 2 seed Concordia Texas (8-6-2, 6-1-1) earned a win over UMHB on the final game of the regular season to leap into the second seed for a fourth straight year in a fall season (2023, 2022, 2021, 2019). The Tornados will play the winner of Hardin-Simmons and Howard Payne. They fell to LeTourneau after a 1-1 tie in penalty kicks, 5-4. Concordia Texas will make its ninth appearance in the ASC Championship Tournament with all coming in a consecutive stretch. CTX won the 2021 ASC Men's Soccer Championship and are 8-5-4 overall.
No. 3 seed Hardin-Simmons (7-5-5, 5-1-2) will host Howard Payne in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Oct. 31. The Cowboys defeated HPU, 2-0, in a match in Abilene earlier this month, as Jakob Fiol had both goals and Carson Null earned a shutout. Hardin-Simmons tied LeTourneau last year hosting a quarterfinal, 1-1. HSU fell on PKs, 4-3. The Cowboys will make their ASC-leading 25th tournament appearance. They have a stretch dating all the way back to 2003. Hardin-Simmons has the most wins with a 24-11-6 record and most titles with nine.
No. 4 seed UT Dallas (7-6-3, 3-3-1) hosts the other quarterfinal matchup with Ozarks. It will be a repeat of last year's quarterfinals in Richardson, as the Comets prevailed 2-1. This year's regular season match went to UTD at home with a 3-1 final, as Riley O'Donnell had a pair of goals and Hamza Syed added another to answer with three straight scores. The Comets will make their 23rd appearance, second-most in the ASC, and extend their streak to 14. UTD is 20-15-7 in tournament games and have won five championships.
No. 5 seed Ozarks (7-9, 3-5) travels to Richardson for the first round against UT Dallas. Falling 3-1 this year, Luke Clingerman scored the Eagles' goal. Ozarks fell, 1-0, to Hardin-Simmons in its final match and it was the team's first loss at home this season. They won their first road match all season a week ago at East Texas Baptist. Ozarks makes its 11th appearance in a row and hold two championships, with the most recent being 2020-21. The Eagles are 10-16-6 and are the third team to eclipse 20 appearances (21).
No. 6 seed Howard Payne (3-10-2, 2-4-1) heads to Abilene for a long-awaited tournament matchup. The Yellow Jackets earned a crucial, 3-1, victory over LeTourneau on Thursday, Oct. 26, to win the tiebreaker for the final spot. The Yellow Jackets end a long drought, as they qualified for the tournament for the first time since 2014. Howard Payne is 0-3 in appearances made in 2009, 2010, and 2014. Last year's No. 6 seed made an amazing run to the championship match.
