Santa Barbara, Calif. - The No. 1 Central Methodist men's soccer program punched its ticket to the NAIA National Championship Final site, defeating No. 2 seeded Corban (Ore.) 3-1 in the Opening Round Championship match of the Santa Barbara Bracket Saturday afternoon in Santa Barbara, Calif.

With the win, Central advances to the Final Site for the third straight season and improves their overall record to 21-1. The Warriors conclude their season with a 9-2-1 mark.

Central's offense put early pressure on Corban's backline and earned a foul inside the box for a penalty kick opportunity. Freshman midfielder Theo Klein converted on the PK, giving CMU a 1-0 lead just seven minutes into the match. 

The Eagles would carry the 1-0 lead into the halftime break. Just 46 seconds into the second, Mark Csongradi fired a ball past the Warriors' keeper for a goal, with the assist coming from Alessandro Lacerti.

Central held a 2-0 advantage for the next 30 minutes before Corban answered the Eagles' attack with a goal of their own in the 76th minute, trimming the lead to 2-1.

Freshman Markus Esko closed the door on any Corban comeback with Central's third goal of the match in the 89th minute. CMU would go on to claim a 3-1 win to earn their third straight trip to the Final Site.

Klein and Alessandro Salvadego led the Central attack with six shots each, while Klein collected his sixth goal of the spring season. Four of Klein's shots were on frame. Carlos Scheckermann, Victor Luengo, and Clayton Duarte finished the match with two shots apiece.

Overall, CMU fired off 23 shots with 10 coming on frame compared to just three shots and two on goal for the Warriors.

Central has earned a first-round bye at the Final Site and will face the winner of No. 8 Cumberlands (Ky.) and No. 9 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) Thursday, May 6 at 1:00 p.m. (CST) in the quarterfinals in Columbia County, Ga.

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