Nov. 19, 2005

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - No. 9-seed Hastings College (Neb.) recorded the biggest upset of the 2005 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship with a 2-0 shutout upset of top-seeded Rio Grande halting a 20-game match winning streak of the Redmen, while extending Hastings' unbeaten streak to 21 games dating back to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Lindenwood in double overtime on Sept. 4, 2005.

Although the two goals are what may stick in the minds of most fans, the spirited first-half play of Hastings' goalkeeper Chris Ladwig might go down as the most important factor of the match.  Ladwig recorded four impressive stops with the first coming in the 28th minute turning away Paul Nicholson's blast from 10 yards out.  Ladwig continued his staunch efforts just over two minutes later thwarting a low driving strike by Conor Dawson and stopped a header by Benn Hughes with just 4:35 left in the first half.

Hastings (19-1-3) mounted a strong closing effort in the first half when Aaron Polak made a run from the back carrying the ball down the left side of the field and carried the ball into the box.  Polak overcame some pressure by a Rio Grande defender and broke free serving a cross to Brendan Walker, whose shot hit the right side of the cross bar and the Redmen cleared.

With the match clearly favoring Rio Grande (20-1) which outshot the Broncos 11-1 in the first half and controlled much of the play in the second, it looked as though it would only be a matter of time for the Redmen to break through the Hastings defense.

However, it was Hastings which broke through first when Nick Vanous who made a run beating two defenders after crossing midfield and broke free to serve a cross to the far post where Steve Fausset pounded home the right-footed volley beating goalkeeper Andy Moore at the 71:58 mark for his seventh goal of the season.

Rio Grande nearly registered the equalizer just over three minutes later when Wayne Maden's header off a corner kick serve just rose over the cross bar.

Hastings' Mitch Treu put the game away with his fifth marker of the year off a serve from Nedim Hasanbegovic.  After the Broncos stole a ball and transition with a four on three advantage, Hasanbegovic serve the ball to Treu who settled it and struck the low drive to the far post in the 84th minute.

Hastings will now face fifth-seeded Azusa Pacific in the semifinals on Monday, November 20 at 6 p.m. Azusa Pacific defeated fourth-seed Auburn Montgomery 2-1 in overtime.

Box Score