Nov. 20, 2008

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The NAIA Women’s Soccer Championship Opening Round is this Saturday, Nov. 22 and features 15 games from all across the country.  Defending national champion Martin Methodist (Tenn.) is the No. 6 seed and will host Indiana Wesleyan in a 2:00 p.m. local time kick-off.  Martin Methodist was the TranSouth Athletic Conference Regular Season and Tournament champion and is 18-1 on the season.  Last year, the RedHawks won the 2007 National Championship by a score of 2-1 over Azusa Pacific (Calif.). The last No. 1 seed to win the title was MMC back in 2005.  The RedHawks are making both their fifth overall and fifth straight appearance in the tournament.

No. 4 seed Azusa Pacific leads the field in consecutive National Championships appearances with 11.  The Cougars also holds the most wins all-time in the National Championships of anybody in this year’s tournament with a record of 21-9.

Two teams enter the tournament unbeaten.  No. 5 Concordia (Ore.) is 19-0-1 on the year and will host St. Ambrose (Iowa) while eighth-seeded Graceland (Iowa) comes in with a 17-0-2 record and hosts Hastings (Neb.).

There are 11 schools making their first ever appearance in the National Championships.

Winners of the Opening Round games, in addition to host school Embry-Riddle (Fla.), will advance to the final site of the 25^th Annual Women’s Soccer National Championship from December 1-6 in Daytona Beach, Fla.  For National Championship ticket information at Daytona Beach from Dec. 1-6, contact Maryellen Wynn at maryellen.wynn@erau.edu or call (386) 323-5004.

For more information on the Opening Round, click here.

For more information on the National Championship, click here.