HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Friday evening, Tiger soccer will be back in action as the look to forge a path through the NAIA opening round, starting with Keiser at 5 p.m. ET.
 
CU received one of the 18 at-large selections to be able to participate in the tournament.
 
LAST TIME OUT

• In the Mid-South Conference Tournament, the Tigers were able to advance to the semi-final round after a 4-2 win over Georgetown.
• However, in the match, they were shutout as they fell to Life, 1-0.
• In the 64^thminute, Life was able to notch the game's lone goal as MSC Player of the Year, Thierry Jules beat the Tiger defense before taking Owen Stott one-on-one for the goal.

 
PATH TO CALI

• With two opening round wins in Hattiesburg, the Tigers will have opportunity to move to the final championship site in Irvine, California.
• The Tigers will start their path on Friday, where they will play the Seahawks of Keiser University.
• The winner of this matchup will move on to faceoff with William Carey, the Hattiesburg, Mississippi Opening Round host.
• The 15 NAIA Opening Round presented by Select Soccer winners will join Westmont University in Irvine for NAIA National Championship Final Site play, beginning on December 2nd. The 16-team single-elimination event runs from Dec. 2 - 7 at the Orange Country Great Park Soccer Stadium.

 
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS

• After an 11-5-1 record on the season, Keiser earned their NAIA bid by winning the Sun Conference Championship.
• The Seahawks will be making their sixth NAIA tournament appearance and their first since 2017, where they boast a record of 2-3-2.
• Keiser won their conference title after a 7-2 conference record before defeating Southeastern in PKs and Johnson & Wales, 5-0 in the Sun Conference Tournament.
• The Seahawks have been led by Adrian Camacho Castro and Ciro Damine who have 13 goals apiece.
• A majority of these goals have come by the way of Evan Finnegan who ranks 10^thin the NAIA with 0.69 assists per game.
• As a team, the Seahawks are fifth in shots per game (20.59) and eighth in assists per game (3.12).
• This meeting will be the first for CU and Keiser.

 
TIGER TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• Campbellsville is making their third NAIA tournament appearance and first since 2016, as they hold a 1-1-1 overall tournament record.
• The two NAIA national tournament appearance for the men came in 2015 and 2016 when they hosted by opening round championships at CU's Finley Stadium. 
• In 2015, the Tigers beat West Virginia Tech, 4-2, in the opening round before falling to Davenport on PKs at the national tournament. 
• In 2016, their second appearance, CU lost to Grand View in the Opening Round. 

 
CU BY THE NUMBERS

• Throughout the season, the Tiger defense has been outstanding as they rank ninth in shutouts per game with 0.56 through 10 shutouts on the season.
• This has helped Stott rank 14^thin goals against per game with 0.76.
• Connor Pugh leads the Tiger offense as his seven goals and 17 shots on goal leads Campbellsville.

 
Following a win on Friday, the Tigers will move on the meet the overall sixth seeded William Carey on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.