Wisconsin Soccer Central

When the first NCAA Division III men's soccer tournament was played in 1974, the UW-Platteville program already had been around for more than a decade.

But despite their long history, the Pioneers didn't make their tournament debut until 2008. Now, Platteville is headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time.

Senior Brandon Chmiel (Cedarburg) served in a corner kick that led to the opening goal in the 34th minute and scored what proved to be the game-winner on another set piece 6 minutes later as Platteville held off Carroll 2-1 in an all-Wisconsin second-round matchup Sunday afternoon in Northfield, Minn.

The win sets up a third-round game against fourth-ranked Loras, Iowa (21-1-1) on Friday or Saturday. The Duhawks certainly will be motivated for the match, as Platteville handed them their lone loss of the season with a 2-1 on Sept. 19.

Senior midfielder Chris Brown (McFarland) headed Chmiel's corner kick past Carroll junior goalkeeper Tomek Miaskowski (Appleton Xavier) to the upper right corner for his sixth goal of the season to out Platteville (15-3-2) ahead.

Then in the 40th, Chmiel got a fortunate bounce to score his team-best 14th goal. He floated in a free kick from near midfield that found its way into the box and bounced over Miaskowski for a surprising 2-0 lead.

The two-goal cushion held up throughout most of the second half, but Carroll (13-8-1) pulled one back in the 88th to set up an exciting conclusion.

Sophomore defender Connor Behnke (Hartford) played in freshman striker Nemanja Medic (Milwaukee Hamilton), who got around Platteville junior keeper Ian Christensen (Oregon) and scored his seventh goal.

Platteville, though, saw out the final 141 seconds to earn a historic victory. Christensen finished with eight saves in the win, while Miaskowski stopped seven shots.

• Sophomore forward Dan Czernicki (Muskego) capped a nice sequence with his seventh goal of the season in the 19th minute and Miaskowski made three saves for his fifth shutout of the season as Carroll upset 12th-ranked Carleton (Minn.) 1-0 in a first-round match Saturday in Northfield. Junior defender Mark Gore started the decisive play with a diagonal ball from the left side to the top right corner of the box. Senior midfielder Andy Ksobiech (Muskego) chested it down and slotted it through for Czernicki, who buried his shot into the side netting – it was the first goal allowed by the host Knights in more than 755 minutes. "Dan's a great striker and he makes great runs," Carroll coach Rick Mobley said. "He got it on his foot and I knew it was in the back of the net. That's what he's in there to do: Score goals." Miaskowski and his backline did the rest as the Pioneers recorded the program's second NCAA tournament victory.
• Christensen made two saves in a shootout as Platteville advanced 3-2 on penalty kicks following a 0-0 draw with Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) in the first round. Christensen, who made eight saves in the 110 minutes of regulation and two overtimes, stopped the Gusties' Lucas Thompson in the third round and dove to his right to deny Konnor Tranoris' shot in the fifth round to seal the outcome. Chmiel, freshman Kyle Hoertner (Stevens Point) and sophomore Hunter McMahon (Onalaska) converted for the Pioneers against keeper Alvaro Pinto, who came into the match for the shootout in place of starter Brett Ylonen for Gustavus (15-2-3). Each team also hit the woodwork during penalty kicks.
• Loras posted a pair of 1-0 victories on its home field in Dubuque, beating St. Scholastica (Minn.) on Saturday and North Park (Ill.) on Sunday to extend its winning streak to 14. Senior Malcolm Calbert (Stoughton) and junior Erik Berkowitz (Racine St. Catherine's) started both matches for the Duhawks and each were booked Sunday – the match featured 30 fouls and seven yellow cards between the teams. North Park posted a 4-1 victory over Washington-St. Louis, Mo. (10-5-2) on Saturday, despite the efforts of senior defender Brian Wright (Milwaukee Marquette), sophomore midfielder-forward Chris Haeberle (Brookfield East) and junior midfielder Martin Schoen (Wauwatosa East) for the Bears.
• Senior keeper Max Gutbrod (Slinger) made four saves as No. 8 Dominican, Ill. (18-2-1) outlasted 21st-ranked DePauw (Ind.) 2-1 in overtime in a second-round match Sunday – the game was scheduled for Saturday but was postponed due to inclement weather. The Stars advance to play No. 15 Wheaton, Ill. (17-3-3) in the third round Friday.

NAIA

Cardinal Stritch (13-4-2) was confirmed Sunday as one of the 32 qualifiers for the NAIA national tournament, which kicks off Saturday.

The Wolves earned their first berth in the event by winning the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season title, and will learn their tournament assignment at 1 p.m. Monday when the bracket is released.

Stritch settled for second in the conference tournament, falling to Olivet Nazarene 4-1 on penalty kicks following a 0-0 tie in Saturday night's final in Milwaukee.

NCCAA

Moody Bible (Ill.) won its second straight National Christian College Athletic Association Division II national championship, beating Northland International 1-0 on Saturday in Kissimmee, Fla.

The top-seeded Archers (18-2-0), whose roster includes freshman defender Brandon Cheshire (Mosinee), beat the Pioneers for the third time this season and the sixth straight time over the past two years to claim their fourth national title.

Second-seeded Northland International, which has won nine NCCAA championships, lost to Moody Bible 3-1 in last year's national final and the goal in Saturday's match was the only one the Pioneers (16-6-1) allowed at nationals. The Archers outscored opponents 22-0 in five postseason matches.