KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Bracket | Live Stats |Schedule) The 32nd annual Women’s Soccer National Championship Opening Round is set to kick-off on Saturday at campus locations. The 15 Opening Round champions will join host Mobile (Ala.) in Orange Beach, Ala., for the NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championship final site, taking place Nov. 30 – Dec. 5. The event will be held at the Orange Beach SportsPlex.
• Fifteen teams will host an Opening Round game – Baker (Kan.), Benedictine (Kan.), Campbellsville (Ky.), Eastern Oregon, Grace (Ind.), Hastings (Neb.), Kansas Wesleyan, Keiser (Fla.), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Martin Methodist (Tenn.), Northwestern Ohio, Spring Arbor (Mich.), Vanguard (Calif.), Westmont (Calif.), William Carey (Miss.)
• Defending national champion Lindsey Wilson (16-1-2) headlines that talented group into Saturday’s matchups. The top-seeded Blue Raiders look for their fifth championship all-time and their third in that past four years. Lindsey Wilson will host Point Park (Pa.) (12-6-2) which were winners of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
• Second seeded Northwestern Ohio looks to avenge its loss to Lindsey Wilson in last year’s championship game. The Racers earned the second overall seed after finishing the year with a 17-2-2 record. Northwestern Ohio hosts Great Plains Athletic Conference tournament champion, Morningside (Iowa) (15-5-1). The Mustangs rank in the top 20 nationally in total assists (54), assists per game (2.570) and total goals (56).
• The host institution was 13-1-1 in the Opening Round last year. Overall, teams who play the Opening Round match at home are 73-14-10 since 2008.
• Eight seeded Westmont (Calif.) leads all schools in the competition with five national championships. Lindsey Wilson is second with four, while Martin Methodist is third with two.
• Five teams make their first championship appearance – Point Park, Grace, Eastern Oregon, Campbellsville and Georgia Gwinnett.
• Biola (Calif.) makes its third appearance, the first since 2004, which snaps the longest drought of the qualifying teams.
• Lindsey Wilson is making its 15th consecutive appearance in the championships, which is the longest active streak in the NAIA.
• The Golden State Athletic Conference and Southern States Athletic Conference lead all leagues with three teams represented in the field.
• This year’s field includes 24 automatic qualifiers and 7 at-large selections. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title, regular-season championship or finished runner-up at the conference tournament. The at-large bids were determined by the final Modified Ratings Percentage Index (MRPI) announced Monday. The MRPI can be found HERE.
• The NAIA Network – the association’s official video streaming home – will broadcast all 15 matches live at the 2015 NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championship final site in Orange Beach, Ala. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, allows users access to live video, statistics, and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-championship package is available at $29.95. For more information and the pre-register, click here.
2015 NAIA Women’s Soccer National Soccer National Championship Opening Round Pairings
Saturday, Nov. 21 | Campus Sites | All Times Local
Match 1 – Point Park (Pa.) (12-6-2) at Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (16-1-2), 2:30 p.m. CST
Match 2 – Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) (14-3-2) at Kansas Wesleyan (14-4-2), 2:00 p.m. CST
Match 3 – Park (Mo.) (14-5-0) at Grace (Ind.) (14-2-3), 2:00 p.m. EST
Match 4 – Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) (13-3-3) at Westmont (Calif.) (14-3-2), 12:00 p.m. PST
Match 5 – Biola (Calif.) (14-3-3) at Eastern Oregon (17-2-1), 1:00 p.m. PST
Match 6 – Ashford (Iowa) (14-4-1) at Campbellsville (Ky.) (18-2-0), 4:00 p.m. EST
Match 7 – Trinity International (Ill.) (13-4-3) at Benedictine (Kan.) (19-1-1), 2:00 p.m. CST
Match 8 – Morningside (Iowa) (15-5-1) at Northwestern Ohio (17-2-2), 11:00 a.m. EST
Match 9 – St. Ambrose (Iowa) (12-4-3) at Hastings (Neb.) (15-4-1), 1:00 p.m. CST
Match 10 – Reinhardt (Ga.) (17-2-1) at Keiser (Fla.) (15-2-1), 2:00 p.m. EST
Match 11 – Science & Arts (Okla.) (12-5-3) at Martin Methodist (Tenn.) (13-4-0), 1:00 p.m. CST
Match 12 – Carroll (Mont.) (14-5-2) at Spring Arbor (Mich.) (18-2-1), 3:30 p.m. EST
Match 13 – Viterbo (Wis.) (12-7-0) at Baker (Kan.) (15-4-1), 5:30 p.m. CST
Match 14 – Columbia (Mo.) (18-3-0) at Vanguard (Calif.) (14-5-1), 11:00 a.m. PST
Match 15 – Georgia Gwinnett (10-8-1) at William Carey (Miss.) (16-2-1), 3:00 p.m. CST
For more information on the 2015 NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championship Opening Round and final site, click here.