Men’s soccer travels to Missouri in NAIA opening round
WEST POINT, Ga. (Nov. 16, 2021) – For the first time in program history, the Point University men's soccer team is headed to the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship after winning the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament Friday afternoon.
The Skyhawks (11-5-2) travel to Columbia, Missouri, and enter the opening round as the No. 4 seed in the Columbia bracket. Point will face host and No. 1 seed Columbia on Thursday, Nov. 18, at 2:30 p.m. ET at R. Marvin Owens Field.
"We are very excited to be able to represent the AAC, Point our program and our families here at the NAIA national tournament," Head Coach Mark Wozniak said. "We want to enjoy it and are ready to embrace this next challenge. Even though it is our first time here, we are ready to come and play for each other and continue the great season we have had so far."
The Skyhawks closed the regular season out strong, as they went 7-2 in October, winning the final four games. In the AAC tournament, the Skyhawks entered as the No. 6 seed and opened tournament play by upsetting the No. 3 seed, Reinhardt, 1-0, before hosting the No. 7 seed Montreat and defeating them 1-0 to advance to the AAC tournament championship. The Skyhawks traveled to Athens, Tennessee, and played Tennessee Wesleyan in the championship.
In the championship, the Bulldogs entered the second half leading 2-0, but Point would battle back, scoring two goals in the second half to even the score 2-2 at the end of regulation. After two overtime periods, neither team could connect for the golden goal, and the match ended in a tie and was sent to penalty kicks. The Skyhawks connected with all five of their penalty kicks, while Julio Gomes made a defensive stop against TWU's second shot to help Point win 5-3 in PKs and advance to the national tournament.
Gomes, Facundo Palacio, Julien Sagnol and Jeronimo Leguizamon were all named to the All-Tournament team, with Leguizamon earning the title of tournament MVP.
Before Point's match on Friday, the AAC announced the All-Conference teams and Leguizamon was named AAC Player of the Year, Golden Boot recipient and was named to the All-AAC first team. Senior Lorenzo Delvecchio was named to the All-AAC second team.
Leguizamon finished the regular season with 22 goals (19 in AAC play), 100 shots in AAC play, and five game-winning goals. Leguizamon had six multigoal games, two hat tricks and broke the school record for most goals scored in a single game, with five goals scored in Point's victory over Johnson (Tenn.).
He played and started in all 13 conference games and accounted for 40 points.
Leguizamon is No. 1 in the nation in three categories, goals (24), points (51), and shots (120). Leguizamon became the first player in program history to be named the national player of the week. After connecting for a hat trick and a super hat trick in the final week of regular-season play, he earned the recognition.
As team captain, Delvecchio has helped guide Point's midfield. The senior finished the regular season with one goal, two assists, and 22 shots taken. Delvecchio's lone goal of the season was the game-winning goal against Johnson (Tenn.).
Also serving as team captain and has helped lead Point's defense this season is senior Julio Gomes. Gomes was named AAC player of the week twice and earned national player of the week to become the second player in the program ever to garner that recognition. Gomes played and started in all 13 conference games and only allowed 11 goals to be scored. He had 43 saves in conference action and a .796 save percentage. In the AAC, he is fourth in save percentage and goals-against average (0.94) and fifth in goals against.
Two unsung heroes for Point have been freshman center-back Julien Sagnol and sophomore attacker/midfielder Pablo Sanz Diez. Sagnol has provided solid defensive support and has scored two goals for the Skyhawks on the season. The first goal of his collegiate career came against Warner in a nonconference matchup that helped tie the game 3-3, and his second came in the AAC tournament championship that cut the Bulldogs lead in half. Sanz leads the team with 10 assists and has two goals on the season. He is No. 5 in the conference in assists.
A look at Columbia
The Cougars checked in at No. 10 in the latest NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Poll and enter the opening round tournament with a record of 11-2-3. Columbia fell in the quarterfinal match of the American Midwest Conference tournament. The Cougars had seven members get named to the AMC All-Conference team.
Contingent on a win
The winner of the match between Point and Columbia will play in the bracket championship match on Saturday, Nov. 20. The winner will face the winner between the No. 2 seed Lindsey Wilson and No. 3 seed Grand View. Saturday's championship match winner will be one of the 10 teams to advance to the final tournament site in Decatur, Alabama, at the Jack Allen Soccer Complex.
