SOCCER, VOLLEYBALL TEAMS SET SIGHTS ON NCAA NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
After being crowned AMCC champions over the weekend, the Penn State Behrend men's and women's soccer teams, and the Pitt-Bradford women's volleyball team, have received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
After being crowned AMCC champions over the weekend, the Penn State Behrend men's and women's soccer teams, and the Pitt-Bradford women's volleyball team, have received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
Men's Soccer:
The Penn State Behrend men's soccer team is headed back to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Behrend (17-1-3) will travel to SUNY-Cortland to play Scranton (14-3-1) in the first round on Saturday, November 12 at 7:30 p.m.
This will be their sixth appearance in the NCAA tournament, including four times in the past six years. The Lions last made an appearance in 2014.
Host SUNY-Cortland (17-2) will take on Morrisville St. (16-3) at 5 p.m. on Saturday. The two first round winners will face off on Sunday at 5 p.m. for the right to advance to NCAA Sectionals.
Behrend and Scranton have only played once before, dating back to 2003 when the Royals handed the Lions a 1-0 loss.
Behrend earned an automatic bid to the tournament with their 4-0 shutout victory over Medaille on Saturday in the AMCC Championship game.
The Lions are looking to get back on the winning track in the NCAA tournament after suffering a heartbreaker in 2014 to Ohio Wesleyan in OT. The 3-2 loss snapped Behrend's 13-game winning streak.
To view the full NCAA bracket, click the link below.
http://i.turner.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/external/gametool/brackets/soccer-men_d3_2016.pdf
Women's Soccer:
The Penn State Behrend women's soccer team will be making their sixth straight, and ninth overall, appearance in the 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 AMCC automatic bid into the 64-team tournament after winning their sixth consecutive title, and 12th overall, 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.
Women's Volleyball:
Pitt-Bradford volleyball will face No. 1 Calvin College in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament at 8 p.m. Thursday in Grand Rapids, Mich.
The Panthers will be appearing in the national tournament for just the second-time in program history; the other appearance came in 2010. Pitt-Bradford earned an automatic bid after winning the AMCC championship on Sunday and will carry a 25-5 record into the match.
The Knights are making their 26th appearance in program history and 13th straight under head coach Amber Warners. Ranked No. 1 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, Calvin is 27-1 on the season, with its only loss coming just days ago to No. 10 Hope in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) finals. The Knights most recently won the 2013 NCAA Division III national championship.
Calvin was selected as one of eight national regional hosts. The other six teams in the Panthers' region are DePauw (Ind.), Carnegie-Mellon, Ohio Northern, Millikin (Ill.), Wittenberg (Ohio) and Bethany (W. Va.). The winner of the regional will advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championships in Oshkosh, Wis., on Nov. 17.
For those wishing to attend the event, tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door. General admission is $6 for a match or $12 for a full session. All matches will be streamed online. Please visit the Pitt-Bradford athletic website for complete coverage of the Panthers' NCAA tournament run