Willamette to Open NCAA Tournament in Chicago against Wisconsin-Platteville

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Willamette University will open the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship in Chicago, Illinois, on Saturday, Nov. 12, when the Bearcats take on the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. CST/5:30 p.m. PST. The Bearcats, who won the Northwest Conference Championship, enter the NCAA Tournament with a 13-2-3 overall record (11-2-1 NWC). UW-Platteville owns a 12-4-3 record and received an at-large bid to the tournament.

The Bearcats will play in a four-team group that also includes a first round match between the host team University of Chicago and Birmingham-Southern College (Ala.). Chicago is 16-0-1 on the season and won the University Athletic Association (UAA) title. Birmingham-Southern completed the regular season at 8-5-5 and won the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) title. Chicago and BSC will play on Saturday at 5 p.m. CST/3 p.m. PST.

Winners in Saturday's first round games will meet in the second round on Sunday, Nov. 13. The second round match-up is slated to begin at 7 p.m. CST/5 p.m. PST.

The NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship bracket includes 64 teams in 16 four-team groups. A total of 43 automatic bids went to conference champions, while one bid went to a team without a conference affiliation or from a conference that didn't receive an automatic bid. The final 20 berths were at-large selections. Pacific Lutheran University from the Northwest Conference with a 16-3-0 record received an at-large bid.

Willamette is making its second appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Bearcats previously qualified for the NCAA Championship field in 2017 after receiving the NWC's automatic bid.