No. 14 Baker Falls to Indiana Tech, 1-0 in NAIA Second Round

BALDWIN CITY - Hosting a national postseason match for the second straight year, No. 14 seed Baker fell to Indiana Tech, 1-0, on Saturday night in the NAIA Men's Soccer Second Round, closing the books on the Wildcats' incredible 2025 season.

The Warriors' goal in the 56th minute was the lone tally of the playoff matchup at Hartley Field as the Wildcats were unable to capitalize on playing with a one-man advantage for the final 25 minutes after a Tech player got a second yellow.

Being held scoreless for the first time in 14 matches, Baker's offense was subdued by a Warriors defense that switched from an aggressive high press in the first half to sitting back and packing things in while clinging to the one-goal lead in the second half.

The two teams matched each other in shots with seven apiece as scoring chances were limited for both sides. Akira Itadani, Javaughn Barrett and Ian Waindim all put up two shots for the Wildcats. BU earned four corner kicks in each half to finish with an 8-3 edge.

It was a quiet first half of play with a combined five shots in the opening 45 minutes. Baker almost found the back of the net on a free kick in the 17th minute, but Itadani's beautiful curler was saved by the diving Warriors keeper.

Indiana Tech found itself in a similar position that led to the game-winning goal after a BU penalty set the Warriors up in a prime spot just inches outside the box. Tech's Mark McDaid delivered a brilliant strike on the free kick to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead early in the second half.

After the Warriors player was sent off at the 62:48 mark, Baker scrambled for an equalizer, but came up empty on back-to-back corners in the 67th and had a couple of collisions with the Tech goalie that could have resulted differently.

With the loss, Baker saw both its amazing 13-match unbeaten streak and 2025 campaign come to a close, finishing the year 14-5-3 overall for the Wildcats' most wins in a season since 2018.

BU secured the program's second straight - and 14th overall - appearance in the NAIA tournament after clinching the Heart of America Athletic Conference regular-season championship. The Wildcats went 9-3-1 in conference play and reached the title game of the Heart Conference Tournament before falling to MidAmerica Nazarene on penalty kicks.

After starting the fall 3-4-1, Baker reeled off a 13-match unbeaten streak that stretched over two months between Saturday's loss and a setback at William Penn on Sept. 20. BU closed the regular season on an incredible run, going unbeaten in its last 10 regular-season games to capture the Wildcats' first league title since 2017.

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