OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City begins its 2025 NAIA Men's Soccer Championship Tournament on Thursday, taking on Westcliff University at 4 p.m. in Bartlesville.
 
If OCU wins, it advances to the second round on Saturday to play top-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan at noon.
 
OCU Notebook
Conference Champs: Oklahoma City celebrated each of its last four wins, winning the regular-season Sooner Athletic Conference title on the last day of the regular season and then advancing through the conference tournament to a first-place finish. The Stars claimed the regular-season title with a win at Central Christian, then eliminated Oklahoma Panhandle State and Wayland Baptist to set up the 2-1 overtime win against John Brown.
 
Postseason Numbers: OCU is outscoring opponents by an average of 4-1 in three postseason games. The Stars pinned five goals each on Panhandle State and Wayland Baptist. Francisco Miquel has five goals, Ethan Taylor has two and Henrique Duarte, Harrison Knight, Juan Erazo and Sage Trevino have one each this postseason. Knight has three assists and Taylor has two.
 
SAC Championship Game Recap: Oklahoma City's Henrique Duarte found the perfect time for his first goal of the season, finding the back of the John Brown net with 71 seconds left in overtime to give the Stars their second consecutive Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Championship, 2-1. Francisco Miquel converted a penalty kick to tie the score at 11 in the 61^st minute.  Duarte converted the game-winning goal on a double assist. Ethan Taylor had a long throw-in, headed by Harrison Knight toward Duarte, who buried the kick to the left side of the goal.
 
National Tournament Experience: Six current Stars started and three others played in OCU's national tournament games last year. Alexis Bertrand, Lorenzo Nardini, Thomas Brulay, Henrique Duarte, Bernardo Duarte and Shay Prescod started. Harrison Clayden, Nathan Fergeson and Ruben Fahiya came off the bench in both of OCU's NAIA Tournament games. Bernardo Duarte and Nardini had assists. Bertrand had eight saves.
 
All-SAC Dominance: As expected, the regular-season and Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament champion Oklahoma City men's soccer team dominated the postseason awards announced Wednesday. OCU captured five superlative awards as well as six All-Conference honors. Billy Martin was named Coach of the Year, Shay Prescod co-Defensive Player of the Year, Alexis Bertrand Goalkeeper of the Year, Harrison Knight Freshman of the Year and Ethan Taylor Newcomer of the Year. Knight, Taylor, Prescod and Bertrand were named first-team All-SAC and Thomas Brulay and Nathan Fergeson were selected to the second team.
 
Opponent History: This will be the first meeting between OCU and Westcliff. The Stars and Oklahoma Wesleyan haven't played since 2013. OWU won that one, 3-1.
 
Westcliff This Season: Westcliff won the California Pacific Conference Tournament with a 4-0 win over 1-12-4 Simpson. The Warriors come into the Opening Round at 11-4-2 on the season and were 34^th in the final poll of the season. Adi Vaknin and Finn Pock were CPC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively. Vaknin had 14 goals and four assists while Jordan Di Lonardo had nine goals and 11 assists. Westcliff was 1-1 in the NAIA Tournament in 2023.
 
Oklahoma Wesleyan This Season: OKWU capped off an incredible year as the KCAC regular-season champion, finishing with an unbeaten 12-0-1 conference record. Alongside team success, several Eagles earned top individual honors for their outstanding performances. Biel Campo led the way, sweeping three major awards KCAC Men's Soccer Most Valuable Player, Offensive Player of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year. Luis Vergara earned KCAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season. Vergara anchors a back line and recorded seven shutouts. Adding to the accolades, Head Coach Jamie Peterson was voted KCAC Men's Soccer Coach of the Year for the third consecutive year, a testament to his leadership and the program's sustained excellence. The Eagles are 18-0-3 after winning the KCAC Tournament title, 5-0, against Ottawa.
 
Shutouts: Through 21 games, the Stars have allowed 16 goals. The Stars' defense has allowed just 8.8 shots per game and only 3.6 shots on goal per match. The result has been nine shutouts for the Stars. Alexis Bertrand leads the SAC with eight shutouts, a 0.78 goals allowed average, and .769 save percentage.
 
Half and Half: The Stars have outscored opponents by a 47-16 margin this season, allowing six first- and 10 second-half goals. OCU has 25 first-half goals and 21 second-half goals. The 26^th goal came in overtime against John Brown.
  
The Goals: Francisco Miquel leads the team with nine goals with Bernardo Duarte at eight. OCU has 47 goals on the season. Harrison Knight has six goals this season, followed by Ethan Taylor with five. Fourteen Stars have scored goals this season.
 
On the Assist: Fourteen Stars have combined for 33 assists this season. Harrison Knight leads the team with seven and Thomas Brulay has four.
  
Coach Billy Martin: Coach Martin is 61-31-14 since taking the helm at OCU in 2020. His 14-win seasons in 2025 and 2024 are his best so far.
 
Keeper of the Week: Oklahoma City goalkeeper Alexis Bertrand's two clean sheets on the road earned him Sooner Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 2. Bertrand had three saves in those two wins. Bertrand's award was the only weekly award for a Stars team that won the league and produced four regular-season superlative award winners.