(Portions of this story courtesy of the NCAA)
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The 2013 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference men's soccer champion, Trinity University, will host first and second round matches at the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship Tournament, which begins this weekend. Interactive Bracket | Printable Bracket
Trinity (18-2-1) earned the SCAC automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs by virtue of its 1-0 win over Southwestern University yesterday afternoon. The SCAC championship was the 11th league crown for Trinity in the last 12 years and assured the Tigers of their 17th appearance in NCAA postseason play since 1992.
Trinity will host first and second round contests at Paul McGinlay Field on November 16-17. The Tigers drew Cal Lutheran University (13-6-2) in first round action. The Trinity/Cal Lutheran winner will play the winner of the University of Puget Sound (14-5) vs. Hardin-Simmons University (11-3-5) winner in the second round.
Forty-one conferences were awarded automatic qualification for the championship. One team was selected from Pool B, which consists of independent institutions, as well as members of conferences that do not meet the requirements for automatic qualification. The final 19 berths were reserved for Pool C, which includes institutions from automatic-qualifying conferences that did not win their conference championship, and any remaining Pool B teams.
All tournament games leading up to the national semifinals will be played on the campuses of competing institutions. Two first-round games will be conducted Nov. 14 with the winners advancing to play Nov. 16 against two teams that earned first-round byes. Nineteen sites will host four teams for first- and second-round competition Nov. 16-17. Second-round winners will advance to one of four sectional sites Nov. 22-24. Winners of the four sectionals will advance to the national semifinals, which take place at Toyota Field in San Antonio on Dec. 6, with Trinity University (Texas) and the San Antonio Sports Foundation serving as co-hosts. The national championship game will be played Dec. 7.
