The WashU women’s soccer team is 14-1-2 and one of the No. 1 seeds in this year’s NCAA Division III national tournament. (Photo: Thomas Grove)

Steven Millbrook
Staff Writer

The recently crowned UAA league champion Washington University women’s soccer team was named one of the No. 1 seeds for this year’s NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer National Championship Tournament.

The tournament bracket was released earlier this week, with 64 teams from around the country competing for championship glory. The D3 tourney will begin this weekend, with four first round games on Friday and 28 more on Saturday. The second round games will be played on Sunday.

42 slots were dedicated to automatic qualifiers that won their respective regular season conference titles, while the remaining 22 spaces given to at-large candidates chosen by the selection committee. Following the first and second round games this weekend, teams that advance will compete in sectional rounds next weekend, with the four sectional champions advancing to the Final Four Four, which will be played at Kerr Stadium in Salem, Va.

The national semifinals will be played on November 30, with the national championship game scheduled for December 2.

WashU won its only national title in 2016, one year after a heart-wrenching 1-0 loss in the 2015 national championship game.

This season, the Bears are 14-1-2 and will head into the tournament as the No. 2 ranked team in the country. WashU played its first 16 games of the season without allowing a single goal, and have some saying the Bears might be the best defensive team in women’s soccer history.

WashU will host its first round game on Saturday, November 11, at Francis Olympic Field, against Maryville College of Tennessee. The Lady Scots, champions of the Collegiate Conference of the South, are 15-3-3 this year and have won 10 of their last 11 games.

The winner of that match will advance to the second round and play the winner of the other first round game that will be played at Francis Olympic Field on Friday, between Hanover and Sewanee.

If Washu was to advance past the second round, the Bears would host sectional round games on November 17 and 19.

Opening kick for Friday’s match against Maryville is set for 5:30 p.m., with the Hanover-Sewanee contest scheduled for an 8 p.m. start.