Kansas Wesleyan Men's Soccer is heading to the Bellevue Bracket of the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championships First and Second Rounds.
The Coyotes will open play in their first NAIA Tournament appearance since 2018 facing Williams Baptist (Ark.) on Thursday. Game time will be announced Monday.
KWU head coach Bruce Palmbaum leads the Coyotes into the NAIA National Tournament for the first time since taking over last season, and said Wesleyan's appearance is a product of season-long consistency.
"I am excited we are here," he said. "We've been consistent all year. Even though we lost in the (KCAC) tournament, our record over the course of the year was excellent, and this is the reward, so yeah, we are excited for the opportunity."
The Coyotes will face Williams Baptist University from Walnut Ridge, Ark., who received an at-large bid to the 40-team field. This is the Eagles' second NAIA appearance.
The Eagles tied for second in the American Midwest Conference regular season, and then did not advance past Missouri Baptist in a penalty kick shootout in the AMC semifinals.
Williams Baptist (11-3-5) relies on defense, notching 13 shutouts on the season, which ranks second best in the NAIA, and has allowed only 12 goals all season. Jacobo Obradors leads the Eagles with 18 goals on the season and is tied for the team lead in assists with four. Adrian Briceno has seven goals. Rodrigo Pina is WBU's goalkeeper playing every minute between the pipes, with 54 saves.
"I am familiar with the AMC (WBU's conference) style of play, and I think they're a good team," Palmbaum said about the Eagles. "I think they've come on at the end of the season, and are a lot better now than they were at the beginning of the season. They'll be a difficult opponent, they have a nice attack, so it's going to be a challenge for us."
The winner will face Bellevue on Saturday. The No. 7 ranked Bruins are 15-2-2 and won the Continental Athletic Conference Tournament.
"We are taking it one match at a time," Palmbaum said. "If we get by Williams Baptist, we will face a very strong Bellevue team and they'll be a big challenge for us as well."