First NAIA Men’s Soccer National Title
The Martin Methodist RedHawks had to work overtime to win their first men’s NAIA national soccer championship.
But that wasn’t anything new for Coach Gerry Cleary’s club. The championship came with a 2-1 overtime win over Auburn United Montgomery.
[show_disconnected][show_to accesslevel=’Subscriber’] Actually, the last three games in the national tournament in Montgomery, Ala. went to overtime.
In the quarterfinals Sean Dong (Canada) scored the game-winner to beat defending national champion Belhaven College from Mississippi. That came four minutes into the second overtime period. Dong, a sophomore, was named the tournament’s MVP and finished with five goals in four games.
The RedHawks advanced to the final by winning a shootout (5-4) with Ashford University and playing a 1-1 draw.
Jonathan Remond (France) scored the winning goal in the eighth minute of overtime to edge #11 AUM, 2-1.
Martin Methodist was the lower seeded team in all four of their matches in Montgomery.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said the RedHawks’ head coach . “These lads worked so hard this season. They weren’t given much of a chance all year long, but they just used that as motivation.
“Some thought we were the worst team entering this tournament, but tonight we proved we were the best team.”
While it was the first men’s soccer national title for Martin Methodist, it was the third overall for the school. The RedHawks won the NAIA women’s titles in 2005 and 2007, both coached by Cleary.
The RedHawks finished the year 18-3-2 overall and were unbeaten in their final 13 games.
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