MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Edgewood University and Milwaukee School of Engineering scored semifinal victories Wednesday to advance to the championship final of 2026 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Men’s Soccer Tournament. The two teams will battle for the right to be called the conference tournament champion and the NACC's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship.
Edgewood put itself just one win away from the first NACC tournament championship in school history with a 3-1 victory over Benedictine, while MSOE defeated Aurora 2-1 to continue its pursuit of a third straight conference tournament title.
Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at Edgewood University Field at Reddan Park in Verona, Wisconsin.
No 1. Edgewood 3, No. 5 Benedictine 1
In the battle of the Eagles, Edgewood scored three goals in the first 30 minutes of play, and that would prove to be all the goals they needed to take down Benedictine at Edgewood University Field at Reddan Park in Verona, Wisconsin, and punch their ticket to the championship game.
Edgewood took the first shot of the game just over three minutes in, and it ended up being the first goal of the game, as Ryan Hardy’s kick was able to slip through the hands of Benedictine goalkeeper Abrahm Tiburcio.
Benedictine took its first shot of the game a few minutes later, but Ari Hernandez's shot was wide right of the goal.
With just over thirteen minutes gone by, Hardy again got the ball for Edgewood. He passed it to Riley Kann, who promptly buried it in the top right corner of the goal to double Edgewood’s lead.
The two teams traded shots for another 15 minutes, until Edgewood struck again. This time, it was Kann getting the assist, as he was able to get the ball to Arjun Kaushik, who found the back of the net to put Edgewood up 3-0, which would be the score going into halftime.
Both sides sent a volley of shots back and forth for much of the second half, and with just over ten minutes remaining in the game, Benedictine was able to find the back of the net as a result of an own goal to cut Edgewood’s lead to two.
Benedictine took seven shots in the final seven minutes, but they were all either off-target or saved by Ezra Wallace, and Edgewood prevailed to put itself just one win away from its first-ever NACC tournament championship, and its first postseason title since winning the final two Lake Michigan Conference tournaments in 2004 and 2005.
Benedictine outshot Edgewood, 17-15, with both sides having five shots on goal. Kann led Edgewood with four shots, two of which were on goal. Eryk Molek, Krystof Cicha, Nico Gonzalez-Polar, and Jacob Skupien all had three shots for Benedictine.
Defensively, Wallace made five saves for Edgewood. Tiburcio played the first half of the game for Benedictine and was not credited with a save. Raul Jasso came on in relief to start the second half and made two saves.
Both sides had five corner kicks, and Edgewood was called for being offsides four times, with Benedictine being whistled twice.
No. 3 MSOE 2, No. 2 Aurora 1
After falling behind early, the Raiders of MSOE were able to score a goal late in the first half and a goal in the second half to take down Aurora and avenge their only regular-season conference loss at Spartan Athletic Park in Montgomery, Illinois.
Aurora took the first shot of the game just over eight minutes in, as Issa Mnangwa’s shot was wide right of the goal.
The Raiders had the first shot on goal of the game right at the 14-minute mark, but Steven Thomas’s shot was saved by Spartans keeper Eron Qorri.
The Spartans were able to strike first. In the 32nd minute, Isaac Jacobo got the ball to Yandel Reyes, who sent a shot past Raiders goalie Dean Schaefer to put Aurora on the board first.
MSOE answered five minutes later with a goal of its own. Andrew Calderon found the back of the net, giving the Raiders an equalizer and knotting the game at one. Lachlan Ladd had an assist on the goal.
Aurora had two shots on goal to end the first half, but both were saved by Schaefer, keeping the game tied at one going into halftime.
Both sides came out firing to start the second half, but it was the Raiders that were able to take the lead. After Aurora committed a foul inside the box, Ditar Useni buried the penalty kick in the back of the net to give MSOE its first lead of the game.
MSOE’s defense shut the Spartans down from that point, allowing just two shots by Aurora in the final 24 minutes, and none in the final 13.
Aurora outshot MSOE, 12-9, with the Spartans also owning a 7-6 advantage in shots on goal. Nico Picha led the Raiders with three shots, two of which were on goal. Aaron Saldana, Jesus Ramos, Jacobo, and Mnangwa all had two shots for Aurora.
Schaefer made six saves for MSOE, while Qorri made four for the Spartans. Aurora had three corner kicks compared to MSOE’s one, and both sides were whistled twice for being offsides.