Concordia to Host William Jessup in Opening Round of NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Ranked fifth in the final NAIA Women’s Soccer Poll, Concordia University was given a No. 6 seed in the National Championship Tournament and will host William Jessup in the National Championship Opening Round on Saturday, Nov. 21.

Concordia finished its season with an 18-2-0 record after defeating The College of Idaho 1-0 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference championship to gain the league’s automatic bid into the NAIA Tournament. William Jessup (10-3-3) will compete in the tournament for the second straight season after capturing the California Pacific Conference regular-season championship.

“We are excited to host the first-round game and we will get busy preparing for our opponent,” Concordia head coach Grant Landy said. “This is a special opportunity to be able to host a NAIA National Tournament game and it is important event for our team and our university. I know our staff and team will put on a first-class event.”

The two teams will square off this Saturday at Delta Park with an opening kick set for 4 p.m. The winner will advance to the National Championship final site in Decatur, Ala., held from Nov. 30 - Dec. 5.

Concordia will be making their ninth straight appearance in the NAIA Tournament field, tying Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) for the second longest consecutive string behind Azusa Pacific, which will be making their 12th straight appearance. The Cavaliers advanced to the NAIA Championship match last year, the second time since 2004 the school has made it into the title bout. Concordia has faced 11 teams that qualified for the bracket, but has never face William Jessup in its 15-year history as a varsity program.

Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (17-2-2) will enter the playoff as the No. 1 seed after finishing the year with a 17-2-2 record. All three top-seeds were ranked at No. 1 at some point in the season. Simon Fraser (B.C.) and Houghton (N.Y.) are making their 11th trips to the National Championship; respectively there are nine schools that have qualified for the first time in program history.

Five of the teams in the field hold at least one National Championship title with no team owning more than two. The last five National Championships have been won by teams in this year's tournament, Lee in 2008, Martin Methodist (Tenn.) in 2005 and 2007 and Lindsey Wilson in 2004 and 2006.

For more information, go to http://naia.cstv.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/111509aaj.html.

This event was posted by jdormeyer@cu-portland.edu.