ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend women's soccer team will be making their fifth straight and eighth overall appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament this weekend. The Lions will travel to No. 10 Centre College in Danville, KY to face the Colonels on Saturday, November 14 at 11 a.m. in first-round action.
The Lions (13-7) earned the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference's (AMCC) automatic bid into the 64-team tournament after winning their fifth consecutive title and 11th conference crown. Centre (16-1-1) won its fourth consecutive SAA (Southern Athletic Association) Championship to be making its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and sixth overall in program history.
The Colonels, ranked 10th in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Top 25, defeated Rhodes 1-0 in the SAA Championship game for their chance at the dance. Centre advanced to the NCAA Elite 8 last season, marking the best finish in program history.
The other first-round match will feature Hanover (15-5) and Capital (14-4-1), beginning at 1 p.m. The winners will play each other in a second-round match at 1 p.m. on Sunday hosted by Centre to determine who advances to the NCAA Sectionals.
Behrend earned the No. 2 seed for the AMCC Tournament and defeated No. 6 Penn State Altoona 5-0, before defeating Pitt-Bradford 4-3 in overtime in the AMCC title game on Saturday.
It will be the first time the Lions and the Colonels will play each other in program history. Behrend also never faced Hanover and are 0-1-1 against Capital. The Lions fell to Crusaders 3-2 in 1999 and tied 2-all in 2013.
