How They Fared: DII-NAIA national titles

How They Fared: DII-NAIA national titles
by Will Parchman
December 6, 2016

While the Division I women’s College Cup just recently wrapped up and the men prep to end the college season with a bang this weekend, a gaggle of national titles were just doled out at DII, DIII and NAIA levels.

Let’s take a jaunt around the country and see exactly who won what, and how each program found its own individual pathway to glory.

Division II

Men’s

If you were hoping for a cinderella to crash the ball, this was not the bracket for you.

The DII men’s bracket has heavy hitters every year, but it isn’t uncommon to see one or two surprises sneak through the gate and make history each year. This, however, was not one of those years. The Final Four was a who’s who of regular season success. Three of the top four No. 1 seeds make it through (Charleston (WV), Rockhurst and Wingate) and the other entrant was No. 2 seed UC San Diego.

Wingate ultimately pulled it off without much drama. The one-loss team blasted UCSD 2-0 in the semi and then beat Charleston (WV) by the same scoreline in the final to drag home the national title.

It was a well-deserved honor, and it underscored a tourney in which lower seeded teams struggled for traction. No. 4 Tampa was the lowest seed to reach the quarterfinals, ultimately falling to eventual champion Wingate. And the upset of the tourney was probably No. 2 Midwestern State besting No. 1 St. Edward’s in the third round.

Women’s

The baton is passed.

Grand Valley State’s grip on Division II women’s soccer has been unassailable for nearly a half decade. They’ve won each of the last three national titles, and a revved up senior class hunting for a fourth in four years looked as though they wouldn’t be denied. They stormed through the tournament initially, winning each of their first four games a combined 10-1 to book passage to the title game.

But Western Washington had other ideas about that dynasty.

Western Washington stormed through its half of the bracket with similar verve, upending each of its four opponents and setting up an epic clash in the finale with Grand Valley State. And it was an occasion to remember.

Ultimately the game was a classic, Emily Webster scoring the winner in the 78th minute to stake Western Washington to a 3-2 win to finish the season with a sterling 24-0-1 record. The win broke up Grand Valley State’s unmatched hegemony atop the DII women’s landscape and gives us something to think about headed into 2017. Is there a new dynasty in town?

Division III

Men’s

Just call it a dynasty. And no, not Messiah this time.

Despite a five-loss regular season, Tufts proved its tourney mettle for the second time in three years with a rousing run to another national championship. This one looked far from assured early, and despite a tough schedule there were other favorites in the bracket. But a grinding, implacable defense guided the Jumbos through with five shutouts in six games. That included the title game, in which Tyler Kulcsar found the net in the second OT to drop Calvin and come home champs.

The win was significant for a multitude of reasons, but beating Calvin was especially relevant. Earlier in the tournament, Calvin shocked perennial national title hunter and undefeated Messiah 2-1 on the road, and two more wins put them in the title game and set them up as a team of destiny. Tufts denied them at the death and started some national title magic of their own.

And Tufts’ road there was fraught with peril. Perhaps the most surprising was the Jumbos’ ability to keep Kenyon under wraps in the quarterfinals. Kenyon had been a wrecking ball, scoring nine goals in its first three games and sending shockwaves through the bracket with a 4-0 trouncing of one-loss Trinity (Texas) team. All Tufts did was shut out that dangerous attack and book a place in the Final Four en route to a second title in three years.

Women’s

Penalties. Dreaded penalties.

The DIII women’s title game was no real surprise to anyone versed in DIII women’s soccer. In 2009, Washington (Mo.) and Messiah locked horns for the national title, and in that battle Messiah came away 1-0 winners. The two DIII superpowers came together again seven years later to decide another title, and 120 minutes weren’t enough.

After a 1-1 regulation and overtime period between two of the best defenses in the country, it came down to dreaded penalties to settle the national champion. It took 10 rounds, both teams going back and forth in agonizing leaps. With PKs tied at 4-4, Washington’s Megan Wolf ultimately stepped to the spot and drilled the match winner, reversing the result from 2009 and handing WashU a national title to confirm its powerhouse status.

The power-packed field itself gave both all it could handle. Talented Hardin-Simmons pushed WashU to the brink in penalties in the third round, and Messiah had to grit out a 1-0 win over Chicago after more or less skating through the earlier rounds. But ultimately it was WashU’s tournament, denying Messiah a title on the women’s end as well.

NAIA

Men’s

Hastings, the top seed in the NAIA men’s tourney, made sure not to leave the door open to any upsets. The Broncos used a Lucas Venegas goal in the 57th minute to best Rio Grande (Ohio), which was seeking to become the first NAIA men’s team to repeat as national champions. Hastings denied them with some timely defense and a silver bullet goal. For Hastings, it meant the school’s first national title since 2010 and marked the first time an NAIA men’s team finished the season unbeaten since Lindsey Wilson in 2011.

Women’s

Northwestern Ohio avenged a semifinal loss to Spring Arbor in 2015 by besting their old foes a year later to capture an NAIA national title with a 1-0 win in the finale. After being forced out of the tourney with an injury a year earlier, Hannah Baines managed to hit the game-winner in the second half on a corner kick. The moment was especially sweet for Northwestern Ohio considering the program’s only existed for four years. It marked the first national title in the school’s history in any sport, and the program’s now been to two national title games in its four years of existence.

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