(Portions of this story courtesy of the NCAA)
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The 2014 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference men's soccer champion, Trinity University, will make its 13th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship Tournament as the Tigers travel to Dallas for first and round matches this weekend. Interactive Bracket | Printable Bracket
Trinity (21-1-0) earned the SCAC automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs by virtue of its thrilling come-from-behind 2-1 win over Colorado College yesterday afternoon. The SCAC championship was the 12th league crown for Trinity in the last 13 years and assured the Tigers of their 18th appearance in NCAA postseason play since 1992.
Trinity will play Hardin-Simmons University (9-4-2), the surprise winner of the American Southwest Conference tournament, in Saturday's final first round match which will begin at approximately 7:30 p.m. CT.
The host school, 24th-ranked University of Texas-Dallas (13-4-3), takes on Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (14-5-1) in Saturday's opening match at 5 p.m. CT. Pomona-Pitzer won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
The winners of Saturday's matches play on Sunday at 5 p.m. CT with a trip to the Sweet Sixteen on the line.
UT-Dallas handed Trinity its only loss of the season (2-1) back on Sept. 6 in a match played at Southwestern. Since that defeat, Trinity has won 18 straight matches and is currently riding the longest win streak in Division III.
Forty-two 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 18 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. Three first-round games will be conducted Nov. 13 with the winners advancing to play Nov. 16 against three teams that earned first-round byes.
Thirteen sites will host four teams for first- and second-round competition Nov. 15-16. Second-round winners will advance to one of four sectional sites Nov. 22-23.
Winners of the four sectionals will advance to the national semifinals, which take place Dec. 5 at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri, with Fontbonne and the Kansas City Sports Commission serving as co-hosts. The national championship game will be played Dec. 6. The Division III women's soccer national semifinals and championship games will also be held at Swope Soccer Village on Dec. 5 and 6.
