Each team hosted NAIA National Championship Opening Round matches on November 21 and advanced to the final site with shutout victories. The Wildcats won 2-0 versus Houghton (N.Y.) College while the Cougars won 3-0 over University of Maine-Fort Kent.

A total of 16 teams will descend on Decatur, Alabama for the NAIA National Championships. All 16 teams earned the right to the final site by winning Opening Round matches at campus sites.

Indiana Wesleyan is currently 17-2-1 and earned an automatic bid to the national championship courtesy of their 2-0 win over No. 16-ranked Marian (Ind.) University in the Mid-Central College Conference Tournament Championship.

The Wildcats have now competed in five NAIA national tournaments and are in their second straight. The victory over Houghton was the second ever national tournament victory in program history.

Azusa Pacific was awarded the first at-large bid following the Cougars' elimination in the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals. APU tied Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) University 1-1, but lost 3-1 in shootouts. Azusa Pacific was ranked No. 4 in the final NAIA Top-25 Coaches Poll to earn the at-large bid and enters Alabama with a 15-3-1 mark.

The Cougars have made 12 national championship tournaments and have earned 12 straight bids. APU is 24-10-0 all-time in national tournament play and won their only title in 1998.

This is not the first time these two programs have met. Azusa Pacific has twice eliminated Indiana Wesleyan from the NAIA National Championship. APU defeated IWU by a 5-1 score in the 2001 round of 16 and again in 2005 by a 3-0 margin in the second round.

Indiana Wesleyan enters this year's Sweet 16 riding high as the Wildcats have not allowed a goal over the last 781 minutes. The streak covers eight consecutive shutouts as Marian scored the last goal against IWU on October 13.

The Wildcats have 14 shutouts overall which ranks third in the NAIA, behind their Opening Round opponent Houghton with 18 and No. 1-ranked Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) College with 16, who defeated IWU 1-0 in the Wildcats' season opener. Freshman goalkeeper Beth Anne Nowak has been a huge factor for the Wildcats' shutouts and she is fourth in the nation with an average of 0.33 goals against.

The Indiana Wesleyan defense will need to be on top of its game on Monday as Azusa Pacific will shoot and shoot often. APU averages nearly 22 shots per match (10th in NAIA) with nearly 11 shots being on goal (25th).

The Cougars set a NAIA National Championship record in their first match with Maine-Fort Kent. APU launched a single-match record 46 shots, breaking an eight year record of 44 set by Lindsey Wilson in 2001. Of the 46 shots, 27 found their way on net.

Azusa Pacific's main threat on the offensive end is senior forward Theresa Broad. She accounts for more than one third of the Cougars' goals this year with 15, including one in the Opening Round victory.

Indiana Wesleyan and Azusa Pacific will battle at 11 a.m. ET on Monday, November 30 in the first contest at the final site. The winner of the match will advance to the quarterfinals and play the winner of No. 5-seed William Carey (Miss.) University and No. 12-seed Graceland (Iowa) University on Wednesday, December 2.

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