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SAN DIEGO – Point Loma Nazarene defeated University of Science & Art (Okla.) 3-0 Saturday in an Opening Round Match of the NAIA National Championship Tournament. Senior Erica Wessels and sophomores Carleigh Salassi and Codi Cameron had goals, and junior goalkeeper Tiffany Kracy blocked a penalty kick to give the Sea Lions the shutout win.


 
The win moves the NAIA No. 4-ranked Sea Lions to 19-1-2 on the year, but more importantly they will advance to the tournament's main site in Decatur, Ala.
 
This will be the fifth-seeded Sea Lions' first trip to Alabama since 2009 when they lost in the championship game. The unseeded Drovers had never made the National Tournament until this year.
 
The Sea Lions outshot the No. 21-ranked Drovers 13-8. Each team tallied six shots on goal. The Sea Lions also took 11 corner kicks compared to just 2 for USAO.
 
In the 10th minute, junior midfielder Kallie Caldwell sent a corner kick into the box. After a couple of deflections and failed clearings by USAO, Wessels, the GSAC Player of the Year, headed in her ninth goal of the season to put the Sea Lions on the board.
 
The teams continued to battle for the rest of the half, and in the 37th minute, Salassi cut through the box to fire in the Sea Lions' second goal off another Caldwell corner kick.
 
In the 61st minute, the USAO's Taylor Fain drew a penalty kick in the Sea Lion box. Everyone held their breathe as Fain, the school's all-time assist leader, lined up for her shot. But Kracy dove to left side of the goal and tipped the shot away. While still on the ground, Kracy lunged forward again to stop the Drovers' follow-up attempt.
 
The rest of the game was a dogfight, with the teams combining for 25 fouls on the game (20 by PLNU).
 
Then with under two minutes to go, Cameron got a pass from sophomore midfielder Krista Gregory, playing in her first game since injuring her first game since injuring her elbow in the GSAC Tournament first round. Cameron raced through the defense and beat USAO's keeper one-on-one to stretch the lead to 3-0.
 
“I don't think [today] was our best game,” said Wessels, a captain. “But we ended up winning, so I guess that's what counts.”
 
Kracy collected six saves on the day, including the one that mattered most. She also notched her 18th shutout, continuing her record-breaking season.
 
The Sea Lion defense held USAO's most prolific scorer mostly in check, with some help. Calli Cooper is the Drover's all-time leader in goals and has 23 on the season, the ninth most in the nation, but she was injured late in the first half. She played only in the final moments of the match on a bad ankle.
 
The Sea Lions will travel all the way to Alabama to face conference rival Westmont in the second round of the National Tournament. This will be the teams' third matchup in a month.
 
The No. 14-ranked Warriors ruined the PLNU's perfect record with a 2-0 victory in the teams' regular season finale on Oct. 29. Then on Nov. 4, the Sea Lions got revenge in the GSAC Tournament second round with a dramatic 1-0 overtime win.
 
The game is scheduled for Nov. 29 at 2:00 pm (PST).