South Easton, Mass. – Three Northeast-10 teams were among the 48 teams that received bids to the NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championship as announced today by the NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Committee.

Franklin Pierce University, Merrimack College and the College of Saint Rose were selected from the Northeast-10 to participate in this year’s NCAA Championship. Saint Rose received an automatic bid after winning their second-straight Northeast-10 Championship. The other two automatic qualifiers include C.W. Post (East Coast Conference) and Georgian Court University (Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference). The University of Bridgeport from the ECC received an at-large bid.

First Round match ups begin on Friday, November 14 with Merrimack facing Bridgeport at noon at host site C.W. Post. The Warriors are currently 12-4-2 overall and are making their ninth trip to the NCAA Championship and seventh trip in eight years. Merrimack was the third seed in this year’s Northeast-10 Championship and advanced to the quarterfinals before being upset by sixth seed UMass Lowell. Bridgeport enters the tournament with a 16-4-1 record before falling to C.W. Post, 1-0, in the ECC Championship. The winner will face host C.W. Post in the second-round on Sunday.

Saint Rose, the third seed in the NCAA Championship, will face #6 Georgian Court at 2 p.m. on Friday at host site Franklin Pierce. The Golden Knights enter the tournament with the momentum of winning their second straight Northeast-10 Championship. Saint Rose tied Franklin Pierce 1-1 in the championship final and needed a penalty kick shootout to determine a winner. The Golden Knights converted all five of their kicks to claim the championship. This marks the sixth time in seven years that the Golden Knights have advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Georgian Court (12-6-5) received an automatic bid after defeating Philadelphia University to win its first CACC Championship since 2002. The winner of this match will face host Franklin Pierce on Sunday.

Franklin Pierce is making its 17th straight NCAA appearance after receiving an at-large bid. The Ravens are currently 15-3-2 and will face the winner of Saint Rose/Georgian Court on Sunday. Last season Franklin Pierce advanced all the way to the NCAA Division II National Championship Game.

With 15 member institutions the Northeast-10 is the second largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

- NE-10 -

NCAA First Round
Friday, November 14
#5 Merrimack vs. #4 Bridgeport - 12 p.m. at C.W. Post
#3 Saint Rose vs. #6 Georgian Court - 2 p.m. at Franklin Pierce

NCAA Second Round
Sunday, November 16
#5 Merrimack/#4 Bridgeport at #1 C.W. Post
#3 Saint Rose/#6 Georgian Court at #2 Franklin Pierce