Put on your dancing shoes, Eagles named the one-seed in the NCAA Tournament
INDIANAPOLIS – The South Atlantic Conference’s regular season and tournament champion Carson-Newman women’s soccer team (18-2) garnered the Southeast region’s top-seed in the NCAA Soccer Championships as the bracket was announced Monday evening.
2015 NCAA Soccer Championship Bracket
INDIANAPOLIS – The South Atlantic Conference's regular season and tournament champion Carson-Newman women's soccer team (18-2) garnered the Southeast region's top-seed in the NCAA Soccer Championships as the bracket was announced Monday evening.
The 14th-ranked Eagles will spend at least the first two rounds of the tournament at the friendly confines of McCown Field as C-N earned home-field advantage throughout the Championships until the Final Four as the Southeast region's top-seed.
Carson-Newman is appearing in its first NCAA Tournament since 2009 and eighth overall; the Eagles advanced to the Elite Eight that season before losing to West Florida 2-1. The Eagles are hosting for the program's fifth-time.
"A phenomenal achievement from the women's side to have started the season ninth in the preseason conference rankings and now we're first in the conference, won the conference tournament and to have a regional ranking is fantastic; I think to even have a national ranking is unbelievable," coach Richard Moodie said. "To have the ability to host at home just gives up that little bit more competitive edge as we go back into the national tournament for the first time since 2009. For us to go in as such a high seed, I think is just amazing. We hope the campus can come out and support the Eagles."
The Eagles earned their bid by virtue of winning the South Atlantic Conference Championship 1-0 over Wingate on Sunday night. Moodie is guiding the Eagles to their first NCAA Tournament appearance during his four-year reign over the program.
Carson-Newman is 10-7 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and have advanced to the Elite Eight three times and have made two Final Four appearances in 2004 and 2005.
"Last season, we learned a lot; it kind of brought us together," junior defender Megan Peterson (Parrish, Fla.) said of the 2014 season where the Eagles went 3-14. "This season, we kind of grew off it and things went our way."
Carson-Newman earned a bye in the first round and will face the winner of the match-up between four-seed Wingate and five-seed Armstrong State on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs and Pirates will play in the first round at 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon at McCown Field. Each team earned an at-large bid to gain entry to the tournament. Last season, Wingate knocked off the Pirates 1-0 in the first round.
The Eagles swept both of the SAC's championships for the first time since 2009. C-N won the SAC Championship title on Sunday evening in Rock Hill, S.C. against Wingate 1-0; in the regular season, Carson-Newman knocked off then ninth-ranked Wingate 1-0. The Eagles are 22-5-2 all-time against Wingate, but the two longtime rivals have never met in the NCAA Tournament. Wingate is 15-2-2 on the year and features first-team All-SAC goalkeeper Alexis Jones.
Carson-Newman is 1-1 in the two meetings against Armstrong, but the two programs have not met since 2008. C-N knocked off the Pirates 3-1 at McCown Field in '08, but Armstrong won the first meeting between the two schools 3-1 in 2007. Carson-Newman and Armstrong have never met in the postseason. The Pirates enter the tournament with a record of 12-4-3; Armstrong lost to the three-seed North Georgia 2-1 in double-overtime of the Peach Belt Conference Championships last Friday.
I don't think it has sunk in yet that we won the SAC Championship and now we are going to nationals. It's crazy to think about and to think about being here four years and this is my final year so it's awesome," senior midfielder Mikayla Gregg (Newport, Tenn.) said. "We haven't seen Armstrong play; we've played Wingate twice and I think it would be good to play them again. Seeing the game Friday, we will get a good idea of what we are going up against. We can't get too cocky with Wingate because it would be a tough match."
The Columbus State Cougars earned the second-seed after winning the Peach Belt Conference title over North Georgia on Sunday. The Cougars swept both titles in the Peach Belt in 2015 and repeated as PBC Tournament champions. Columbus State is ranked sixth in the nation with a record of 18-2-1. The Cougars will face the winner of the match-up between the three-seed North Georgia and the sixth-seeded Limestone Saints.
North Georgia earned an at-large bid after falling to Columbus State in the PBC Championship. The Nighthawks are 15-3-1 on the year and ranked 17th in the nation. North Georgia is appearing in its fourth NCAA Championship. Last season, the Nighthawks fell to the SAC's Lenoir-Rhyne in penalty kicks after the match ended in a 2-2 draw.
Limestone earned a spot in the tournament after knocking off Belmont Abbey in the Conference Carolinas Championship match. The Saints had lost to the Crusaders in the regular season, but a 1-0 win for Limestone on Sunday punched the ticket to the tournament. The Saints are 16-3 on the year eight of their 10 matches. Limestone will making its first-appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The entire field of 48 was announced on Monday night. The tournament will begin on Thursday and finish up with the title game on Dec. 5th in Pensacola, Fla. The University of West Florida is the host for the championship rounds.
NCAA Southeast Region Schedule
Friday, Nov. 13
4 p.m. #4 Wingate vs. #5 Armstrong State (at Carson-Newman)
5 p.m. #3 North Georgia vs. #6 Limestone (at Columbus State)
Sunday, Nov. 15
1 p.m. WU-Armstrong winner at #1 Carson-Newman
1 p.m. NG-Limestone winner at #2 Columbus State
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