Men's Soccer | 12/2/2016 2:01:00 PM

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Wingate will host a viewing party at Irwin Belk Football Stadium, with the contest airing on the HD Video Board!! 

Kansas City, Mo.----The top-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs will play in the first NCAA championship contest in school history Saturday afternoon, facing No. 4 University of Charleston (W.Va.) in the NCAA Division II men's soccer championship at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs enter the final game of the season at 18-1 overall, while the Golden Eagles are 19-2-2 on the year.

"We are very excited to have the opportunity to play for the national championship," head coach Gary Hamill says. "We are down to the top two teams in the country and that's where we wanted to be. It means everything to the players and for everyone who has ever been associated with Wingate soccer and the university."

The Bulldogs are in the national title match after Thursday's 2-0 victory over No. 10 UC San Diego in the first Final Four appearance in program history. Junior midfielder Christian Szalay (Vienna, Austria) scored both goals for the Bulldogs, opening the scoring less than three minutes into the first half while adding the insurance goal in the 70th minute. All-American midfielder Aksel Juul (Newcastle, England) had the assist on the first goal. Thursday was the first time all year the Tritons gave up multiple goals in a game.

The Bulldogs have played four NCAA Tournament matches to reach the finals, collecting four shutouts, including three shutouts over top-15 teams. Wingate opened tourney play with a 3-0 victory over Limestone in the regional quarterfinals, getting a pair of Jon Ander (Bilbao, Spain) goals, with Callum Ross (Newcastle, England) providing the game-winner. Wingate met eighth-ranked and defending national champion Pfeiffer in the regional title match, handing the nation's top-ranked offense its first shutout in two years while Juul provided the second-half game-winner in front of a capacity crowd at Pride Park.

The Bulldogs notched their third straight shutout in the National Quarterfinals at Pride Park, prevailing 1-0 against No. 14 Tampa thanks to Ander's strike from over 20 yards out in the second half. That victory sent Wingate to its first-ever Final Four, where the 'Dogs prevailed to become the first team in Wingate history to reach an NCAA national title match. A victory Saturday would make the Bulldogs the first team in South Atlantic Conference history to win a team national title in a SAC-sanctioned sport.

The Wingate defense has piled up 11 shutouts through 19 matches this year, allowing a nation's-low eight goals while leading the country with a 0.42 goals-against average. The Bulldogs have not allowed multiple goals in any game this year. Wingate is yet to allow a goal in the NCAA Tournament, and has gone 444 minutes without allowing a goal. The defense is anchored by consensus first team All-American Alex Nelson (Newcastle, England), along with third team All-American Damian Gaona (Santiago, Chile) and All-SAC and All-Region honoree Vicente Munoz (Santiago, Chile). All three have started every game for the Bulldog defense that allows just 6.5 shots per contest. Two-time All-American goalkeeper Pablo Jara (Santiago, Chile) leads the nation with his 0.42 goals-against average.

The balanced Wingate offense is led by Ander. The 2015 SAC Player of the Year and second team All-American has eight goals and a team-best 11 assists, ranking in the top 10 nationally in assists while leading the team in points. All-SAC honoree Elma N'For (Yaoundé, Cameroon) has a team-best nine goals on the year. Juul has collected six goals and eight assists, while Ross has registered eight goals and three assists. Nelson and Szalay have contributed four goals apiece.

Charleston ranks second nationally in goals, assists, points and scoring offense, ranking 16th in goals-against average. The Golden Eagles have 78 goals on the year, led by All-American Will Roberts, who has 22 goals and seven assists. Jermaine Windster, and Felipe Antonio have 11 goals each, while All-American Patrick Guier has nine goals and 19 assists. Charleston has only been shutout once all year, while scoring multiple goals in each of its last nine matches. This marks the second national title match appearance in three years for the Golden Eagles.