MINNEAPOLIS -- Behind a pair of goals in the opening 25 minutes of play by Mitchel Munzing (SR, Portland, Ore./Grant HS), the Augsburg University men's soccer team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III national playoffs with a 3-1 opening-round victory over Occidental College on Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 3, Occidental (Calif.) 1
LOCATION: Edor Nelson Field, Minneapolis
RECORDS: Augsburg 17-2-2 overall, Occidental 10-6-4 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Occidental outshot Augsburg by a 23-8 margin in the game and held a 55-to-45 percent possession advantage, but the Auggies were able to convert goals on three of their five shots on-target. Meanwhile, just eight of Occidental's 23 shots were on-target, with one goal.
• Sixteen minutes into the game, Munzing's first goal started off from a loose ball recovery by Diego Veit (SR, Vina Del Mar, Chile/Centro Educacional de Adultos Rafael Sotomayor) near midfield. Viet threaded the ball forward, deflecting off an Occidental defender, to Munzing, who sprinted to the center of the 18-yard box and fired a left-footed shot to the net.
• Nine minutes later, Munzing scored his second goal of the game and 10th of the season, picking up a loose ball that the goalkeeper had misplayed forward into an open space. Munzing sprinted past two defenders and slotted the ball low to the left corner of the net for his second multi-goal game of the season.
• Six minutes into the second half, Carver Tierney (SR, Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo HS) scored his team-leading 18th goal of the season, scoring on a scramble in front off a corner kick by Joseph Swallen (JR, Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS). Christopher Plaza Alvarado's (SO, New Brighton, Minn./St. Anthony Village HS) poked the ball off his heel in front, and Tierney slammed it home.
• Christian Hodges (FY, New Albany, Ohio/Tree of Life Christian School) had seven saves in goal for the Auggies.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Augsburg is making its fourth-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III national tournament (2008, 2010, 2018) and first-ever time hosting NCAA tournament games, and is now 3-3-1 all-time in NCAA playoff competition, all under 22nd-year head coach Greg Holker (211-136-55 career record).
• With its 17th victory of the season, the 2025 Auggies are now the winningest team in the 58-year history of the men's soccer program, eclipsing the 2010 Auggies, which went 16-5-1 overall, reaching the second round of the NCAA tournament.

QUOTES FROM AUGSBURG COACH GREG HOLKER
• "Survive and advance. Occidental is a very good side with some quality players, and the ability to play in a way that we very much respect. That was not our best performance and the crowd was not treated to attractive soccer, but at this stage of the season it's about winning, no matter what that looks like."
• "Mitchel Munzing was the player our program needed today -- he took the game into his own hands and grabbed goals for us. He is so ready to explode and give us everything he has. He's been such a vital player in our program for years, and now is his time to shine. I am so excited to see what he does next."
• "Diego and Carver both figured into goals, and when your front three are a part of the goals, you know your team will have the safety blanket it needs to give the starters a rest. It was disappointing not to keep the clean sheet at the end, but the trade off for rest was worth it. Outside of Jeffrey Richter, our starters averaged just under 60 minutes and that may be very useful as we look to bounce back and play again tomorrow."
• "I have to thank our alumni for showing up en masse today -- they were critical to lifting up the team and providing support. This is new territory for every player on our team -- it's this group's first NCAA tournament, and to have the men that had played in tournaments previously here to support them means a lot to me and to the guys."

FOR THE FOES
• Tyler Na-Nakornpanom scored from Justin Nishimoto in the 78th minute for Occidental.
• Casey Scott had one save in the first half, and Sammy Gramlich had one save in the second half for the Tigers.

UP NEXT
• Augsburg will host Edgewood University (Wis.) in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday (11/16) at 1 p.m. at Edor Nelson Field. The Eagles opened their tournament run with a 3-0 victory over Gustavus Adolphus College on Saturday at Augsburg.