MISHAWAKA, Ind. — The 13th-ranked Bethel Pilots host the NAIA First and Second Round for the third consecutive year and appear in the NAIA National Tournament for their fifth consecutive year as they prepare to face the 17th-ranked Indiana Tech Warriors of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Saturday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. on Morey Field.

The Pilots ended the Crossroads League season with a record of 5-4-0, then lost to the (RV) Marian Knights 3-2 in the Crossroads League Quarterfinal in Indianapolis. The regular season started strong for BU with quality wins over #13 MidAmerica Christian in the Fall Classic, #21 Rio Grande (Ohio) in the NAIA Atlanta Classic, and (RV) Lindsey Wilson at home. Other notable games include the 2-2 tie with #12 Keiser in the NAIA Atlanta Classic.

Piero Sabroso is tied for seventh in the NAIA for Goals scored this season at 18 and tied for the most goals in the Crossroads League with Brandon Nyagurungo of Indiana Wesleyan. Sami Charaf Amal is the team assist leader with 12 and tied for fifth in the NAIA with Madonna's Andres Gomez and William Penn's Miguel Menendez.

SCOUTING INDIANA TECH

The Warriors are ranked 17th in the NAIA's Final Coaches Poll and are the WHAC champion over the (RV) Aquinas Saints 2-1 in overtime and took second under the Madonna Crusaders in the conference standings with a record of 9-0-3 and 13-1-5 in the regular season.

Indiana Tech is no stranger to the Crossroads League with a record of 1-1-2 against the league falling to #17 Indiana Wesleyan 3-2 to kick off their season, tied Mount Vernon Nazarene 1-1, defeated the Crossroads League Regular Season champion Huntington 1-0, then tied #13 Grace 0-0. The only ranked wins were to (RV) Aquinas 2-1 in September and the WHAC Championship 2-1 in overtime. Against the NAIA Top 25 teams, Indiana Tech is 0-1-2, tied to #20 Madonna and #17 IWU.

The Warriors' scoring has been spread out this season. Freshman Gui Moreira leads the way with nine goals and five assists, followed by sophomore Saladin Lekhal with six goals and three assists. Senior Alex Mihov leads the team in assists with seven and has five goals this season, along with Tiago Dias and Liam Arthur, who both have five goals and round out the Warriors' scoring.

Alex Kyriakides has started in net for 17 games and has only allowed nine goals and tallied 45 saves with a .833 save percentage this season.

BRACKET OUTLOOK

In the Pilots' region of the bracket, #3 William Penn, Missouri Baptist, and Governors State would be the possibilities of who Bethel would play in the Round of 16 pending the win over Indiana Tech.

Other Crossroads League teams in the bracket region include #11 Marian who faces off with Second Round host Oklahoma City and would have to reach the Quarterfinal to see the Pilots if both teams make it. 

The #7 Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats are in the above bracket region and host Milligan and Madonna and would face the Pilots in the Semifinals if both teams make it.

#13 Huntington is on the opposite side of the bracket and travels to Second Round host MidAmerica Nazarene and would have to get to the NAIA National Championship to face the Pilots if both teams make it and Spring Arbor is in the same scenario but host #16 Clarke (Iowa) and would have to defeat Huntington to face the Pilots if Huntington and Spring Arbor were to make the Semifinal.

HOW TO WATCH THE NAIA SECOND ROUND

Livestream (Bethel Sports Network): https://bupilots.com/showcase?Live=353

Livestats: https://statb.us/central/1088

Schedule: NAIA First and Second Round Schedule