By Chad Waller, NAIA Director of Communications & Sports Information
NAIA Match of the Week – No. 10
No. 3 Davenport (Mich.) (13-1-2, 8-0-1 WHAC) at No. 4 Northwestern Ohio (13-2-0, 9-0-0 WHAC)
Wednesday, Oct. 28 | 4 p.m. EDT | Lima, Ohio | Racers Stadium
Live video – provided by Northwestern Ohio and Stretch Internet
• With two regular season games remaining in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC), two top-five teams will meet up with the conference title on the line Wednesday. Defending national champion and No. 3-ranked Davenport (Mich.) visits fourth-ranked Northwestern Ohio at 4 p.m. EDT.
• With an undefeated 9-0-0 league mark, the Racers hold a ½ game lead over Davenport in the WHAC standings.
• A Northwestern Ohio victory would all but ensure a second-straight WHAC regular-season championship.
• Davenport is seeking its third WHAC regular-season crown since 2010.
• When looking at this year's NAIA Match of the Week, the home team has gone 5-3-1 through nine games. Additionally, the higher-ranked team has owned a 4-4-1 mark. However, the underdog had come up on the winning side in the last four weeks – (RV) Roosevelt (Ill.), No. 20 Rocky Mountain (Mont.), No. 23 Lyon (Ark.) and No. 7 Missouri Valley.
• The average margin of victory in the NAIA Game of the Week is 1.22 goals. Two of the matches have been decided in overtime and five of the last six overall have been a one-goal margin.
• In the all-time series with Northwestern Ohio and Davenport, the Panthers lead by a 4-0-1 margin. The first meeting in 2012 resulted in a 1-1 draw. In the last four match-ups, Davenport has owned a 10-2 scoring advantage. Davenport is 2-0 in matches played in Lima, Ohio.
• After a 5-1 win over Madonna (Mich.) on Oct. 24, Davenport has gone unbeaten in its last 15 matches (13-0-2) with wins over nationally-ranked No. 15 Ashford (Iowa) and No. 4 Grand View (Iowa).
• The Panthers are currently ranked in the top 30 nationally in three categories: 26th in total goals (45), 27th in shots on goal per game (9) and 30th in goals per game (2.81).
• T.J. Ifaturoti has had a breakout season for the Panthers and currently ranks nationally in game-winning goals (2nd, 6), total goals (9th, 18), total points (11th, 39) and shots on goal per game (41st, 2.0). Ifaturoti's 18 goals this season is currently third-best in school history trailing Dzenan Catic who was an MLS draft pick a year ago. Ifaturoti's 39 points is also third-best in a season at DU.
• Jake Love has been a playmaker for the Panthers this season with 10 assists which ranks 11th in the NAIA. His 10 assists are also one shy of the school-record for a season set last year by Catic.
• Netminder Aaron Orban has compiled a 9-1-2 record with one shutout this season. Orban has a 1.14 goals-against average and 45 saves this season.
• Northwestern Ohio has won 11 straight matches dating back to a 4-2 loss at Rio Grande (Ohio) on Sept. 12. The latest victim for the Racers was Michigan-Dearborn by a 6-1 count on Oct. 24.
• The Racers are out-scoring their opponents 43-5 in that 11-match stretch
• Goalkeeper Liam Davies has set new WHAC records for career victories (52) and shutouts (31) with two matches remaining in the regular season
• Sean Latimer has tallied 12 goals on the season, with nine of those goals coming during the Racers' 11-match winning streak (four in the Racers' last two games.)
• Northwestern Ohio has scored at least six goals in a game four times this season. Only two other WHAC schools have more than one such game – Lawrence Tech and Indiana Tech.
• The Racers have three players who rank in the top 10 in the WHAC in total points – Sergio Royo (33), Latimer (28), and Pascal Debowiak (19).
• The match will feature the top three goal scorers in the WHAC: Davenport's TJ Ifaturoti (19), Royo (13), and Latimer (12).
• Davenport and UNOH rank 1-2 in the WHAC in every team offensive category. Davenport has the edge in shots, but UNOH leads in every other category.
