ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend women's soccer team will be making their sixth straight and ninth overall appearance in the 2016 NCAA Division III Tournament this weekend. The Lions will travel to No. 4 Thomas More in Crestview Hills, KY to face the Saints on Friday, November 11 at 11 a.m. in first-round action.
The Lions (16-4) earned the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference's (AMCC) automatic bid into the 64-team tournament after winning their sixth consecutive title and 12th conference crown. They enter the tournament on a 12-game winning streak. The Saints (20-0-1) are making their seventh appearance and sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament after earning the automatic bid for winning the PAC (Presidents' Athletic Conference) Championship Tournament.
Thomas More will also play host to Lynchburg (14-2-3) and Hope College (15-3-2). The Hornets, from the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) earned an at-large bid, while the Flying Dutch won the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) conference championship for the automatic bid.
The other first-round game will feature Lynchburg and Hope, beginning at 1:30 p.m. The winners will play on Saturday, November 12 at 1 p.m. for the right to advance to the NCAA Sectionals.
Behrend and the Colonels are meeting for the second time in program history. Thomas More defeated the Lions 3-1 in 2006 in the Herb Lauffer Memorial Tournament. Behrend has never faced Lynchburg or Hope since becoming a varsity sport in 1996.
