On November 14, 2015, the Trinity Baptist College Eagles men’s soccer team captured its first-ever National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Division 2 national championship.
The Eagles defeated Moody Bible Institute (Chicago) 1-0 to secure the title. Mid-fielder Pedro Santos scored the game’s only goal in the 17th minute, and both teams put on a defensive showcase for the entire game, making it difficult for the offenses to get clear shots on goal. When the Eagles did shoot, they met up with a 6-foot-6 freshman goalkeeper, who refused to allow another ball past him.
Eagles goalkeeper Chad Crampton saved the game literally in the final second. With less than 30 seconds left, Moody advanced the ball from its own goal line into scoring position and got off the potential game-tying shot. Crampton, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, dove and knocked the ball out of the top-right corner of the net just as the clock hit :00 to make the biggest save of his soccer career.
The Eagles won the quarterfinal game 8-0 over Manhattan Christian College and then defeated Kentucky Christian University 7-0 in the semifinal.
The Eagles finished the regular season with a record of 12-4, including 5-1 in the NCCAA D-2 South Region competition to earn the top seed in the South Region tournament and a semifinal bye. They defeated Johnson University of Florida (Kissimmee, Florida) 4-2 in the South Region Final.
The Eagles won their first nine regular-season games, including two over higher-level teams. Stiff competition followed with two straight losses in close games to higher-level scholarship schools and a region loss to Florida College (Kissimmee, Florida). The Eagles then won four more before dropping the regular-season finale 1-0 to scholarship school Columbia International University.
Four straight postseason victories earned the Eagles their national title with a final record of 16-4.
Eagles head coach Bill Brindley and his assistants, Prince Borde and Addison Simms, gave the following responses in a Q&A session:
Q: Please provide your reflections on the season.
We are ecstatic about the way the season turned out. When you set out and work hard at a specific goal like winning a national championship, few things are as satisfying as realizing that goal.
Our team this season was oozing with talent, but we also had some of the most driven, focused, and hardworking young men both on and off the field. We pride ourselves on being blue-collar coaches and running a hard-working organized group.
As the season went on, our defense became increasingly difficult to break down because of the hard work that each player put in day in and day out. This culminated in a national tournament run in which we did not allow a single goal.
Q: How tough of a schedule did you have?
A: Our schedule was a mixed bag, ranging from some of the best NAIA teams in the nation to some very easy games.
Q: What was the turning point of the season?
We probably didn’t have a true turning point in the season until our last couple of training sessions before our South Region Tournament. We noticed a closeness and drive in the players that we had been looking for all season.
Q: When did you realize that you had a legitimate chance at winning the championship?
A: We realized that possibility after our first preseason scrimmage against Southeastern University (NAIA). Though we lost 7-1, we knew we could develop skills over time and have a very good team on our hands.
We played Southeastern again and led most of the game. If not for a couple of unlucky breaks, we would have won. That game solidified our hunch that we had a great team.
Q: What were the biggest victories in terms of importance?
A: Our second victory over Toccoa Falls College (Toccoa Falls, Georgia) was one of our best. We played the strongest soccer we had played all season. That is what you hope for as a coach: to have your team peaking just as the regular season is coming to an end.
Q: What were the biggest obstacles the team had to overcome?
A: Our toughest stretch as a team was a midseason three-game slide. Though tough, it was one of the most important times in our season for several reasons.
One, our players had not learned to come from behind all season, which showed that chink in our armor. Two, it showed some players’ potential that had been overlooked all season. When the regular starters faltered, some other players stepped up and impressed, which showed our depth.
Q: What role players had the biggest impact?
Chris Castellanos, our right back, had a huge impact. Chris had played midfield and forward all his life, but he expressed at the beginning of the season his interest in filling a role that was a potential weak spot on our team. He did an outstanding job all season in that role.
Victor Ataide saw very limited playing time until the end of the season. He became the biggest difference maker down the stretch while coming off the bench. He was dynamic and would break defenses down. We had a different dimension with Victor on the field.
A number of Eagles players offered their thoughts on playing on such a special team.
- Forward Josh O’Hara: “Well, in the beginning of the year – at our first team meeting – we set a goal of winning Nationals, and I think that all of us were so bought into that goal that we didn’t let anything stop us.”
- Goalkeeper Chad Crampton: “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’”
- Goalkeeper Romario Romaine: “Playing on this team is putting your head in a lion’s mouth. It is a constant battle for positions, and at any moment your competition will bite your head off. On the other hand, we are like a pack of wolves: stronger together than we are apart.”
- Mid-fielder Stewart Jones: “Being a senior, it’s been a long time coming to see this day. This team has gone from worst to first in just four years. Nothing else to say about that other than, ‘Thank you, Jesus!’”
Jones is the Eagles’ only senior.
For seven Eagles – all freshmen – the honors did not end with their national championship. Six earned postseason recognition by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) by finding their names on all-star rosters. A seventh – freshman forward Tresor Mbuyu – won four different honors.
The NSCAA and the NCCAA named Mbuyu, midfielder Breno Oliveira, and defenseman Stephan Spicer to the NCCAA All-American Division 2 First Team roster. O’Hara made the Second Team.
Mbuyu also made the 2015 NCCAA D-2 All-Tournament Team. Moreover, he won the National Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player, and the NSCAA Player of the Year awards. He scored 19 goals in 16 regular-season games, which led the South Region. He added one goal in the South Region final and three more in the national tournament.
Oliviera scored five regular-season goals and added the eventual game winner in the South Region final.
Spicer was a defensive force who thwarted countless opponents’ attacks to help keep balls out of the net. Spicer and his defensive teammates flourished during the South Region final and again throughout the national tournament.
O’Hara scored 10 goals during the regular season, second on the team. He then scored five postseason goals – three in the South Region final and two in the national tournament.
Castellanos (one goal), Santos (12), and midfielder Leonardo Anjos (four) all joined Mbuyu on the NCCAA Division II All-Tournament team. Santos will have the life-long memory of scoring the lone goal in the championship game.
Congratulations go to the Trinity Baptist College Eagles men’s soccer team and coaches on their 2015 NCCAA Division II National Championship and postseason honors.
See more about Trinity Baptist College Eagles athletics at www.tbceagles.com.
State Recap/North Florida/February 2015
Bill Brindley-Head Coach
Trinity Baptist College
Jacksonville, Florida
Raymond Bureau
Trinity Baptist College Men’s Soccer Wins the NCCAA Division 2 National Championship, Seven Players Earn Postseason Honors
