Lees-McRae Receives Bid to NCAA Women's Soccer Championships

7/11/2011 12:00:00 AM

Note: Courtesy of Lees-McRae sports information & ncaasports.com

Lees-McRae punches first ticket to NCAA Tournament, will face Columbus State Friday

11/7/2011

INDIANAPOLIS --- The Lees-McRae College women's soccer team has been selected to participate in the program's first-ever NCAA Division II women's soccer championship, announced NCAA officials Monday evening.

This fall has been a season of program-firsts for Lees-McRae (13-4-3), as the Bobcats are fresh off capturing the school's first outright Conference Carolinas regular season championship. The Bobcats also won the conference tournament title in dramatic fashion to earn the league's automatic bid, capturing the trophy after edging Belmont Abbey College in a penalty kick shootout.

Lees-McRae enters the tournament as the sixth seed in the Southeast Region and will face third-seeded Columbus State University (15-4-2) on Friday evening at 6 p.m. on the campus of second-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne University (17-2-0) in Hickory, N.C. The winner of Friday's match will advance to Sunday's second round contest against Lenoir-Rhyne.

North Georgia College & State University (15-2-3) is the fourth seed, and will square off against fifth-seeded Wingate University (16-3-0) on Friday on the campus of top-seeded Armstrong Atlantic State University (15-2-3). The winner of the North Georgia/Wingate matchup will advance to Sunday's second round contest against Armstrong Atlantic.

Lees-McRae has put together one of the best seasons in program history, posting an 11-1 record in league play to capture the Conference Carolinas regular championship for the first time since 2000. The Bobcats boost a potent offensive attack, entering the tournament ranked fourth in the nation in scoring offense, led by Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year Meagan Thornton (Millville, N.J.), sophomore MaryBeth Sullivan (Greensboro, N.C.), and seniors Vickie Rich (Arlington Heights, Ill.) and Brooke Santerre (Port Republic, Md.).

The Bobcats will return to the pitch on Friday when they take on third-seeded Columbus State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on the Lenoir-Rhyne campus at 6 p.m. in Hickory, N.C.

- LMC -

Friday, November 11, 2011 (Lenoir-Rhyne University - Hickory, N.C.)
No. 6 Lees-McRae vs. No. 3 Columbus State, 6 p.m.
Sunday, November 13, 2011 (Lenoir-Rhyne University- Hickory, N.C.)
Lees-McRae/Columbus State vs. No. 2 Lenoir-Rhyne, 2 p.m.

Visit lmcbobcats.com for the latest news and info on Lees-McRae College Athletics.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Committee announced the field of 48 teams for the 2011 NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championship. Each of the eight regions received six championship berths. Twenty automatic berths are awarded for the Division II championship.

2011 Division I Championship
Interactive Bracket
Printable Bracket
Championship Information

For first- and second-round competition, teams will be paired in their respective regions with the No. 4 seed playing the No. 5 seed, and the No. 3 seed playing the No. 6 seed Friday, Nov. 11. The winner of the No.4/5 seed game will advance to play the No. 1 seed and the winner of the No. 3/6 seed game will play the No. 2 seed on Sunday, Nov. 13. The West Region sites will play first-round games on Thursday, Nov. 10, and its second-round games on Saturday, Nov. 12.

All games will be played on the campus of a participating institution and will consist of two sites per region. The two finalists in each region will advance to the third- and quarterfinal-round competition to be played Friday, Nov. 18 and Sunday, Nov. 20. The semifinals and championship games will be played on Dec. 1 and 3 at Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex at Pensacola, Fla.

First-Round Sites and Team Matchups
Region/Teams
Atlantic Region
Edinboro (15-5-0) vs. West Chester (12-3-4)
California (PA)* (18-0-2) vs. winner of Edinboro/West Chester
Slippery Rock (14-4-2) vs. Alderson-Broaddus (10-6-3)
Kutztown* (16-5-0) vs. winner of Slippery Rock/Alderson-Broaddus

Central Region
Metro State (11-6-1) vs. Minnesota State Mankato (16-2-3)
Colorado Mines* (15-2-3) vs. winner of Metro State/Minnesota State Mankato (16-2-3)
Regis (Colo.) (14-5-0) vs. Colorado Mesa (10-7-4)
Fort Lewis* (14-2-4) vs. winner of Regis (Colo.)/Colorado Mesa

East Region
UMass.-Lowell (11-5-2) vs. Dowling (13-5-2)
Bridgeport* (16-0-0) vs. winner of UMass.-Lowell/Dowling
Merrimack (16-3-1) vs. Holy Family (13-7-0)
Saint Rose* (19-1-1) vs. winner of Merrimack/Saint Rose

Midwest Region
Quincy (15-4-2) vs. Wisconsin-Parkside (12-3-2)
Grand Valley State* (18-0-2) vs. winner of Quincy/Parkside
Bellarmine (15-2-3) vs. Rockhurst (13-4-2)
Northern Kentucky* (16-4-0) vs. winner of Bellarmine/Rockhurst

South Region
Florida Tech (11-4-1) vs. Lynn (9-6-1)
Saint Leo* (15-2-1) vs. winner of Florida Tech/Lynn
Tampa (13-5-2) vs. North Alabama (17-3-0)
Rollins* (14-2-2) vs. winner of Tampa/North Alabama

South Central Region
St. Edward’s (15-2-1) vs. Midwestern State (13-5-2)
Abilene Christian* (18-1-1) vs. winner of St. Edward’s/Midwestern State
Central Missouri (19-1-0) vs. Dallas Baptist (14-5-1)
Central Oklahoma* (15-3-0) vs. winner of Central Missouri/Dallas Baptist

Southeast Region
North Georgia (15-2-1) vs. Wingate (16-3-0)
Armstrong* (15-2-3) vs. winner of North Georgia/Wingate
Columbus State (15-4-2) vs. Lees-McRae (13-4-3)
Lenoir-Rhyne* (17-2-1) vs. winner of Columbus State/Lees-McRae

West Region
Games will be played Nov. 11 and 13:
Cal State Stanislaus (11-4-5) vs. Cal State Chico (11-6-3)
UC San Diego* (13-2-4) vs. winner of Cal State Stanislaus/Cal State Chico
Games will be played Nov. 10 and 12:
Seattle Pacific (16-2-0) vs. Grand Canyon (9-5-3)
Cal. State Los Angeles* (12-4-3) vs. winner of Seattle Pacific/Grand Canyon
Note: Denotes host institution*

In the 2010 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer national championship game Grand Valley State won the women's soccer championship 4-0 against UC San Diego.