Lenoir-Rhyne, Wingate Earn Bids to NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championship

INDIANAPOLIS - South Atlantic Conference teams Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate have been selected to compete in the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship, the Association revealed on Monday.

The 48-team tournament, comprised of six teams from each of the bracket's eight regions, will get underway on Friday.

Wingate earned an automatic bid into the field by virtue of winning the 2011 Food Lion SAC Women's Soccer Championship last weekend. The Bulldogs, who enter the NCAA Championship with an overall record of 16-3, are currently riding a streak of five-straight victories.

Wingate, the Southeast Region's No. 5 seed, will face fourth-seeded North Georgia on Friday in the Opening Round. North Georgia, a member of the Peach Belt Conference, finished the season with a record of 15-2-3 and lost in the PBC Championship semifinals.

Also earning a bid was regular-season SAC champion Lenoir-Rhyne. Despite falling to Wingate in the finals of the SAC Championship, L-R earned the No. 2 seed in the Southeast Region, and will host the winner of Columbus St. and Lees-McRae on Nov. 13.

L-R went a perfect 9-0 in regular-season conference play, and finished with an overall record of 17-2. The Bears are led by 2011 SAC Player of the Year Catherine Hauck.

The 2011 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship will culminate with the National Championship on Dec. 3 in Pensacola, Fla.

[Complete NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship Bracket]