The Kenyon Lords will get to play in their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament.
They'll begin play Saturday with a home game versus Maryville College.
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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Committee announced Monday the field of 62 teams for the 2018 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship, which begins Friday and concludes with the national championship December 1. Upon the announcement, the Kenyon College Lords found out they would be host to first- and second-round games.
The Lords, who enter the tournament with a 16-1-2 record, will play the Maryville College Scots (14-3-1) Saturday on Mavec Field. Also Saturday at Mavec, Carnegie Mellon University (11-4-2) and Centre College (14-4-2) will battle. The winners of those two games will then meet Sunday to decide who advances to the NCAA sectional round. Game times are tentatively slated for 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. Sunday.
Kenyon is making its 15th overall and sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Last season, the Lords knocked off Transylvania University, 1-0, in NCAA first-round play before being eliminated in the second round by Otterbein University, which posted a 3-2 victory. Ranked No. 10 in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, Kenyon earned its way into this year's tournament by grabbing the North Coast Athletic Conference's automatic berth with a 4-0 thumping of Ohio Wesleyan University in the conference tournament finale.
Maryville, the Lords' first-round opponent, made its way into the national bracket by winning the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament. The Scots, winners of their last eight contests, claimed a 1-0 win over Covenant College in the tournament championship.
Kenyon and Maryville have met just one previous time, a first-round game in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Kenyon came away with a 3-0 win in that contest.
In the other first-round game being played at Kenyon, Carnegie Mellon makes its 14th NCAA Tournament appearance. The No. 11-ranked Tartans have won three of their past four games, including a 3-1 win over then No. 8-ranked Case Western Reserve University, the only team to hand Kenyon a defeat this season. Back in the first week of the season, Kenyon and Carnegie played to a 1-1 draw.
Finally, Centre enters national play as the Southern Athletic Conference Tournament champion after upending top-seeded Olgethorpe University in the tournament final. The Colonels are making their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and riding an eight-game unbeaten streak. Kenyon hosted Centre earlier this season and produced a 4-0 victory.
Ticket prices for entry to Mavec Field this weekend are $7 for adults, $5 for students and $3 for children 17 and under. Students carrying a Kenyon ID will be admitted free.
