NAIA National Championship Bracket announced; Union lands in Marion Bracket

Barbourville, Ky. - Union men's soccer is headed to Marion, Ind., for the Second Round of the NAIA National Championship tournament.

Union will play against No. 16 seeded Indiana Wesleyan out of the Crossroads League on Saturday, Nov. 18. The winner of that game will advance to the Round of 16, which will be held in Wichita, Kan.

The Bulldogs reached the finals of the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament last season, but did not appear in the national tourney. This season, the Bulldogs are making their fourth appearance in the NAIA National Championship field.

It marks Union's second trip to the national tournament under head coach Jonathan Shaw with the other appearance occurring in 2019.

The Bulldogs are currently sixth in the NAIA for goals scored this season with 73, while they are tied for third in assists with 56. The Orange and Black also rank eighth in the nation in shot percentage at of .227%.

With 23 of Union's 73 goals on the season, Callum Edwards ranks second in the nation in goals scored. Edwards is one goal away from tying Union's single season goals record. He ranks first in the nation in game winning goals with nine, while being tied for sixth in the nation in points with 47.

Edwards was one of five Bulldogs that received All-AAC honors in 2023. Edwards, Asuka Kaneda, and Callum Longworth were each named First-Team All-AAC. William Fox and Diogo Costa were each tabbed Second-Team All-AAC. Union Goalie Ethan Whyte was First-Team All-AAC in 2022.

The Bulldogs have an overall record of 15-2-2 (10-1-2 AAC), while Indiana Wesleyan is 12-3-4 (4-1-4 CRL). Additional information about the tournament can be found by clicking here. The bracket can be found by clicking here.