KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2022 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship begins tomorrow for First Round games at 10 campus sites around the country. Thursday's action will match #1 vs. #4 seeds and #2 vs. #3 on the pitch. Winners of the contest will move to Second Round action on Saturday, November 19th with a trip to Decatur, Alabama on the line.

The 64th Annual Men's Soccer NAIA National Championship will be played at Jack Allen Soccer Complex from November 29th through December 5th. 

• All matches will be broadcasted by the host institution
• View the NAIA National Championship Qualifiers
• Full First & Second Round brackets and matchups
• Watch the NAIA Men's Soccer Selection Show

Qualifier Highlights

• Saint Mary (Kan.) and Williams Baptist (Ark.) are in the field for the first time in program history
• The Heart of America and Southern States conference lead the way with four teams each; Cascade, Continental, Crossroads and Wolverine-Hoosier have three
• Twenty-six teams from the 2021 tournament are back in the mix this season
• All 10 of the bracket host institutions sit as the No. 1 team in the bracket with a combine record of 137-18-29
• The field features seven teams who have won the national championship, highlighted by Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) with nine
• Central Methodist (Mo.), Madonna (Mich.), and Warner Pacific (Ore.) have not suffered a defeat; They combine for 11 ties
• Bethel (Ind.) comes into the tournament with the most wins on the year (19)
• Last season's champion, Keiser (Fla.), and runners-up, Mobile (Ala.) have returned to the 2022 field 
• Rio Grande (Ohio) has scored 99 goals on the year, 26 more than Embry-Riddle and Warner Pacific
• Williams Baptist (Ark.) has only allowed seven goals on the year, followed by St. Thomas (Fla.), Mid-America Christian (Okla.), and Corban with eight
• The MACU Evangels and Corban Warriors have each recorded 14 shutouts on the year

The NAIA Network – the association’s official video streaming home – will broadcast all eight matches live at the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship final site in Decatur, Ala. with the championship game being shown on ESPN3. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, allows users access to live video, statistics, and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-championship tournament package is available at $34.95. For more information and to pre-register, click HERE.

This year’s tournament field includes 27 automatic qualifiers and 13 at-large. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title, regular-season championship, finished runner-up at the conference tournament or were awarded the conference automatic berth in the absence of a conference tournament. The at-large bids were determined by the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Selection Committee. This committee consists of one representative from each geographical area, a representative from the National Administrative Council, the president of the NAIA-Men’s Soccer Coaches Association, and three at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.