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College notes: Maranatha Baptist tops NCCAA Division II men's field

11/28/2014, 7:15pm CST
By ERIC ANDERSON
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One Wisconsin college soccer team won a national championship this fall.

Maranatha Baptist rallied past Ohio Christian 2-1 in the men's final at the National Christian College Athletic Association Division II Championships on Nov. 15 in Kissimmee, Fla., to claim the title in their first appearance in the final.

Senior defender Drew DeLozier (Watertown Maranatha Baptist) scored the equalizer on an audacious 45-yard strike in the 57th minute and sophomore forward Wira Wama netted the game-winner 96 seconds later for the Sabercats (13-6-1).

Wama, a native of Papua New Guinea who has made several appearances for his country's Under-23 national team, was named the tournament's MVP and Best Offensive/Attacking Player.

DeLozier, senior midfielder Taylor Pill (Watertown) and junior goalkeeper Charlie Leeds (Fond du Lac Trinity Baptist) also made the all-tournament team along with Wama, who finished the season with a team-high 14 goals.

Maranatha Baptist, which has played as an independent the past two years after leaving the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, was seeded fifth in the eight-team tournament and earned an at-large bid after falling to Moody Bible (Ill.) 2-1 in the Midwest Region final.

But the Sabercats knocked off the three-time defending national champion Archers in the semifinals, scoring three second-half goals to erase a two-goal halftime deficit and post a 3-2 victory. DeLozier started the comeback in the 48th, junior midfielder Jackson Miller (Williams Bay Faith Christian) tied it with a header in the 54th and Wama came up with the game-winner in the 78th.

Junior forward Timothy Rogers and senior defender Thomas Bagin scored for Maranatha Baptist in a 2-1 victory over Providence (Canada) in its opener.

Nationals highlight video on Maranatha Baptist Men's Soccer Facebook page

  • The Maranatha Baptist women's team also played for a national title, but dropped a 2-0 decision to top-seeded Clearwater Christian (Fla.) in the final Nov. 15 in Kissimmee. Junior midfielder Harmony Lorch scored the 68th-minute equalizer in a 1-1 draw against Providence, and freshman forward Anna Dahl (Baldwin-Woodville) had two goals and junior forward Olivia Doersling added two assists in a 4-0 rout of Baptist Bible (Pa.) as the Sabercats qualified for the final. Dahl was named to the all-tournament team for Maranatha Baptist (9-9-2), along with sophomore midfielder-forward Courtney Dunn (Oshkosh) and sophomore forward Audrey Risma.
  • Rock Valley (Ill.), led by former UW player and assistant coach Carrie Barker, finished fourth in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III women's national tournament in its first season of play. The Golden Eagles (15-4-1) lost to eventual champion Brookdale (N.J.) 3-0 in the national semifinals Nov. 15 in Toms River, N.J., to Herkimer (N.Y.) by the same score in the third-place match Nov. 16.
  • Bruce Erickson, a former Viterbo coach, resigned earlier this month after 16 seasons as women's coach at Creighton. Erickson led the Bluejays to a 163-125-32 record and five NCAA tournament appearances. He was the Viterbo men's coach from 1993 through '98, was the inaugural V-Hawks women's coach in 1995 and served as the school's athletic director from 1995 to '99.
  • Three state teams participated in the National Intramural and Recreation Sports Association Soccer Championships last week in Memphis, Tenn. Marquette qualified for the 24-team Men's Championship competition and finished 0-2-0 with losses to Virginia Tech (4-1) and Connecticut (2-1). UW-Milwaukee entered teams in the Open tournament – the men's team went 1-2-0 in pool play, beating Utah Valley State 2-1 after falling to Northeastern 3-0 and Missouri 2-1, while the women's side lost to Vanderbilt (4-1), San Diego State (5-0) and Massachusetts (4-0).

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