Total of Five SAC Soccer Teams Earn NCAA Championship Selections

INDIANAPOLIS – Five programs from the SAC – three men's and two women's – have earned selections to compete in the NCAA Division II Soccer Championships, the association announced Monday evening.

The men's championship field consists of 35 teams, while the women's bracket is made up of 48 teams. Regional play begins on Thursday, and the national semifinals and finals take place Dec. 5 and 7 in Evans, Ga.

Wingate is the top seed in the women's southeast region bracket. The Bulldogs – who earned an automatic bid after winning the Food Lion SAC Women's Soccer Championship on Sunday – will host the winner of No. 4 Columbus St. and No. 5 Clayton St. on Sunday.

SAC women's soccer regular-season champion Lenoir-Rhyne is the region's No. 2 seed after earning an at-large selection. The Bears also have a first-round bye, and will take on the winner of third-seeded Belmont Abbey and sixth-seeded Pfeiffer on Sunday in Hickory.

WU enters the tournament 15-2-3 overall and went 8-2-1 in the SAC, while L-R is 14-4-1 and finished 9-1-1 in league matches.

In the men's Super Region II bracket, SAC regular-season and tournament champion Queens is the No. 2 seed and will have a bye in the opening round. The Royals will face the winner of No. 3 Lander and No. 6 Flagler on Sunday.

Queens – winners of five straight - enters the championship 16-3 overall, and the Royals finished SAC play at 9-2. Queens defeated Anderson on Sunday, 2-0, in the SAC Soccer Championship finals.

In the top half of the Super Region II bracket, fourth-seeded Anderson will face fifth-seeded Carson-Newman on Thursday at Limestone's campus in Gaffney, S.C. The winner will then take on top-seeded Limestone on Saturday.

Carson-Newman is 12-5 overall and went 8-3 in the SAC, while Anderson is 12-6-3 overall – which includes its run to the SAC Championship title match – and went 4-5-2 in the conference.

[NCAA Division II Soccer Championship brackets: Men | Women ]