Bethel men’s soccer remains undefeated in national title defense

MISHAWAKA, Ind. (WNDU) - At the end of the last men’s soccer season, the Bethel Pilots came home as national champions, and to a champions welcome.

Now, their title defense is off, and it’s off to a hot start. The Pilots are still ranked No. 1 in the country in NAIA and remain undefeated this season with five wins and one draw to No. 13 Oklahoma Wesleyan.

Up next for Bethel is a date with No. 5 Lindsey Wilson College out of Kentucky on Wednesday afternoon at Grand Park in Westfield.

16 Sports caught up with the Pilots, who talked about turning the page from last year to start their title defense off right.

“I think what got us to what we did last year won’t get us to repeat, so we try not to make that our focus,” said head coach Thiago Pinto. “We want to be better than we were last year in terms of character and performance, and that’s our focus.”

“We talk a lot about it because it’s normal for a champion team to relax,” said forward Piero Sabroso. “But fortunately, we have a lot of good teams, captains, and coaching staff. And the mentality since day one was winning it again because one can win it and it can be luck, but winning it again shows that we were prepared and we have the level.”

Kickoff for Wednesday’s match against Lindsey Wilson is set for 4 p.m.

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