U-M Earns NCAA Bid, Will Face Wisconsin-Milwaukee
11/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The University of Michigan women's soccer team earned its ninth NCAA Championship Tournament bid today (Monday, Nov. 6) as announced by the NCAA Division I women's soccer committee. The Wolverines are set to take on Wisconsin-Milwaukee Friday evening (Nov. 10, 5 p.m.) in the first round of play in the region hosted by Notre Dame at Alumni Field in South Bend, Ind.
"We are excited to make the NCAA Tournament, which is a big goal of ours," head coach Debbie Rademacher said. "They are an unknown opponent but we are excited to move one step closer to our ultimate goal."
A Michigan win against the UWM Panthers (16-3-1) would move the Wolverines (9-7-5) into a second-round match on Sunday (Nov. 12, 1 p.m.) against the winner of top-ranked Notre Dame (20-0-1) and Oakland (8-10-1).
The Wolverines won the only other meeting all-time against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a 3-2 win in 2000 at the U-M Soccer Field. Michigan jumped out to a 3-0 lead in that contest and held on for the one-goal triumph. That same season, U-M also traveled to Notre Dame for first- and second-round matches. The Wolverines ousted Miami (Ohio) 4-3 in double overtime on Stephanie Chavez' game-winner before falling to the No. 1-ranked and undefeated Fighting Irish.
Michigan has played in South Bend for first- and second-round action in three previous seasons, posting a 3-2 all-time record in such contests, including a monumental second-round, 1-0 upset over Notre Dame in 2003.
Three other Big Ten programs join the Wolverines in the NCAA Tournament. Big Ten champion and No. 2 seed Penn State plays host to Niagara, while third-seeded Illinois takes on Southeast Missouri State and Purdue faces Marquette.
Michigan are 9-7-5 and finished with a 4-3-3 Big Ten mark. U-M enters the tournament after going 5-2-3 to finish the regular season and advancing to the second round of the Big Ten Tournament last week, which included a pivotal 2-1 first-round victory over No. 4 seed Indiana last Thursday (Nov. 2). Junior Lindsey MacDonald (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) netted her first career marker -- the game-winner -- to send the Maize and Blue to the second round of the conference tournament.
The Wolverines, who missed out on the NCAA Tournament in 2005, have earned a national tournament spot in nine of the past 10 seasons.
Third-round and quarterfinal contests will be held at campus sites. Third-round matchups will be played Nov. 17-19 and quarterfinals are scheduled for Nov. 24-26. The four semifinalists will move onto Cary, N.C., Dec. 1-3 for the NCAA Women's College Cup, hosted by North Carolina State University.
Contact: Matt Baumer (734) 763-4423
