INDIANAPOLIS, IN – The Grand Canyon University men’s soccer team and the BYU-Hawaii women’s soccer program have been selected to compete in the NCAA Division II National Championships beginning this weekend.
And for the first time in the short history of Pacific West Conference soccer, PacWest men’s and women’s teams will simultaneously host opening-round games.
The announcement came from the NCAA offices in Indianapolis, IN, on Monday, Nov. 8, during a web broadcast.
BYU-Hawaii will host half of the NCAA II West Region bracket beginning Thursday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m., when UC-San Diego battles San Francisco State in the First Round. The game is scheduled for Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park in Waipahu, HI.
The Seasiders will return to the Waipio Peninsula on Saturday evening for a Second Round battle vs. either the Tritons or the Gators. The time is to be announced.
For BYU-Hawaii, it marks the highest seed for a women’s soccer team in PacWest history.
If the Seasiders advance following Saturday’s game, they would travel to the South Central Region – either to Texas or Missouri – where they would play in the West Region Championship against either top-seed Seattle Pacific, Cal State Los Angeles, or Montana State Billings.
That game would be held on Nov. 19 at St. Edward’s, Abilene Christian, Angelo State or Midwestern State – all in Texas – or at Central Missouri or Truman (MO). It would be the first game of a third-round twinbill that would be followed by the Central Region Championship.
The two regional champions then would square off on Monday, Nov. 21, in the Quarterfinals to decide a trip to the final four in Kentucky at Bellarmine University Dec. 2 and 4.
BYU-Hawaii captured the PacWest Championship this season with a 12-1-1 conference mark and a 14-1-2 overall record. With the title came an automatic berth in the national tournament.
While the women’s field consists of 48 teams spread evenly over eight regions, the men’s Division II Championship bracket features 32 clubs distributed over four Super Regions with no automatic qualifier.
Super Regions 2 and 4 each consist of eight teams, while Super Region 3 has 10 schools and Super Region 1 boasts just six.
Grand Canyon will compete in Super Region 4 as the second seed in the West Region following a 12-1-1 PacWest record that produced a championship, and an overall mark of 14-2-2.
The Antelopes will battle third-seed Cal State San Bernardino (13-5-1) at Chico State on Friday, Nov. 12, at 4 p.m. PST (5 p.m. AZT) in the opening round. Grand Canyon is 18-10-1 all-time vs. the Coyotes.
If the Antelopes win, they will face off against top seed and host Chico State (13-6-0) or No. 4 seed Sonoma State (14-5-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m. PST (2 p.m. AZT).
Two victories for Grand Canyon means the Antelopes will be in the Quarterfinals on Nov. 20 or 21 facing one of the following schools - Colorado School of Mines, Regis (CO), Midwestern (TX) State or Truman (MO).
The Semifinals and National Championship will be held Dec. 2 and 4, respectively, at Bellarmine University in Kentucky.
www.thepacwest.com
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