Wildcats Set for Round of 16 Matchup with No. 2 Oklahoma Wesleyan
WICHITA, Kan. - Reaching the final site for the ninth time in program history, the Baker men's soccer team will take on No. 2 Oklahoma Wesleyan in the NAIA Round of 16 on Tuesday, Dec. 3 in Wichita, Kan.
The Wildcats advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time since 2019 after knocking off No. 15 UC-Merced, 4-0 in a second-round matchup at Hartley Field on Nov. 23.
Evans Osei Amankwah recorded his first career brace in the postseason win, while Akira Itadani and Reilly Marlow-Jones accounted for the other two goals. Marlow-Jones added a couple of assists for a four-point outing and Osei Amankwah and Itadani each earned an assist as well.
Oklahoma Wesleyan comes into the matchup with a 21-1-0 record and a 20-match winning streak with their lone loss coming against fellow Heart of America and Round of 16 team William Penn in the second game of the season. The Eagles also used a 4-0 result to punch their ticket to Wichita, defeating Carroll, 4-0 in their first game of the playoffs.
BU boasts a four-match winning streak against OKWU with the most recent match between the two clubs coming back in 2022 when the Wildcats knocked off the fifth-ranked Eagles, 3-0 for the first-ever win at the newly-constructed Hartley Field.
Baker is looking to reach the NAIA Quarterfinals for just the second time in program history with its only appearance in 2011. That year, the Wildcats advanced all the way to the Fab Four with a 1-0 win over Hutson-Tillotson in the Round of 16, followed by a 3-1 victory over Grand View in the Elite Eight.
With the victory over the Bobcats, head coach Nick Aguilar earned his first NAIA playoff win as a head coach for BU. He was a forward on the 2011 Fab Four team, scoring a goal in the quarterfinal match against GVU, and was a part of four straight playoff appearances as an assistant coach from 2016 to 2019.
The Wildcats' Round of 16 matchup will kick off at 10 a.m. on Dec. 3 at the Scheels Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kan.
Fans can purchase an advanced ticket for the final site at VisitWichita.com.
A live stream of the match will be available for free either on the Urban Edge Network or the NAIA Network and live stats are available via StatBroadcast.
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