DECATUR, Ala. – In a game that spanned two days with 21 hours between the start and finish, the Blue Raiders opened their NAIA National Championship with a dominating 4-0 result over No. 7-seed St. Thomas (Fla.) at Jack Allen Soccer Complex.

Lindsey Wilson rolled in the first half of the contest – played yesterday – scoring four unanswered goals across the opening 45 minutes of play. Action was halted during halftime – a break that lasted 17 hours and 25 minutes -- as severe thunderstorms hovered over the Decatur area.

In the 20th minute, Anouar Adam received the ball on the sideline in front of the team benches and fed the ball through a gap of two Bobcat defenders. Monwabisi Mngqibisa carved his way between the backline and launched the ball to the far post and into the bottom corner of the goal.

Five minutes later, Jaland Larmond was fouled inside the box which set up the penalty kick goal from Alexander Koziolek for the 2-0 advantage.

The Blue Raiders continued pushing the pace during the 29th minute as LWC right back Moussa Gueye launched the ball and after a couple dribbled, Sadam Masereka blasted the ball to the lower left. The tally led to a 3-0 score.

The offensive continued rolling as Mngqibisa collected his second goal of the afternoon. His goal during the 40th minute was the final of the half and gave the Blue Raiders a commanding 4-0 lead before play was halted for the day.

Lindsey Wilson settled into a defensive wall in the second half, as they preserved their 4-0 lead till the final whistle.

The Blue Raiders allowed St. Thomas to 12 shots in the half with three of the attempts finding their way on goal. Lindsey Wilson's back line held strong over the final 45 as they limited the Bobcats attempts to low percentage areas.

Lindsey Wilson goalkeeper Pablo Costa finished the match with eight saves. All four of the Blue Raiders shot atempts on goal in the game found their way to the back of the goal.

With the result, the Blue Raiders advance to take on No. 2 seed Dalton State (Ga.) on Thursday at 4 p.m. CT in the quarterfinals.