NCAA Bracket
Tournament Information
 
MARYVILLE – The Maryville Scots are headed to Atlanta!
 
Maryville drew Pacific Lutheran out of Tacoma, Washington, as a first-round opponent when the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship begins this Saturday.


 
"It's always fun to play someone different," Maryville head coach Pepe Fernandez said. "We don't know anything about them, other than one of their former players was Maddie's (Madison McDonald) teammate. That player is not there now, but the Alaska women on our team are familiar with that area.
 
"It's nice not to be traveling as far as we have traveled in the past. We've been to Kenyon, we've been to St. Louis – all these crazy places over the years. Emory is an easy trip. We are familiar with the field and the coaches down there."
 
The Scots received the first Collegiate Conference of the South automatic bid to the NCAA postseason in the brief history of the league. The CCS, which began competition in fall 2022, had to complete a two-year transitional period before becoming eligible for NCAA auto bids, and women's soccer was the first one awarded.


 
12th NCAA Tournament Appearance
Maryville is 13-2-4 and swept through the CCS with a perfect 8-0-0 record. The Scots then knocked off Asbury 4-2 in the tournament semifinals and Belhaven 1-0 in the championship match to advance to the NCAA tournament for a second straight season and 12th time in program history.
 
Pacific Lutheran earned an automatic bid as winners of the Northwest Conference. The Lutes are 15-1-4 overall and went 14-0-2 in league play. Their only loss was 2-0 against No. 25 McDaniel in Baltimore back on Aug. 31, one day after they knocked off No. 17 Johns Hopkins 3-2 on the Hopkins home field. The Lutes also drew 1-1 at home against No. 16 Case Western Reserve.
 
Saturday's schedule has host and No. 14-ranked Emory taking on Methodist at 1 p.m., with Maryville and Pacific Lutheran clashing at 3:30. Sunday's Second Round tilt is scheduled for 3 p.m.


 
"We know all these teams are going to be good," Fernandez said. "It's going to be difficult, but I'm excited for the players and we have an opportunity to see a little bit different opponent and not have to travel as far."
 
This is the first women's soccer matchup between Maryville and Pacific Lutheran, and there are no common opponents on the 2024 schedules. The schools did meet in men's basketball in December 2021 in Las Vegas, a game won by Maryville 74-68.