EAGLES HOSTING NCAA II TOURNAMENT USI is 2nd seed, gets first regional since 1982

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For the second time in three years, the 16th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men’s soccer team has received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Screaming Eagles will be hosting the Midwest Regional for the first time since 1982.

The Midwest Regional field will feature third-seeded Saginaw Valley State University (9-2-6) versus sixth-seeded Ashland University (7-9-3) Thursday at 7 p.m. with the winner to play USI Saturday at 1 p.m. SVSU and Ashland are members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).

The Midwest Region title game will be played in Hays, Kansas, and hosted by the Central Region’s Fort Hays State University. The Midwest Region champion will play the winner of the Central Regional, which features 10th-ranked Fort Hays State (15-2-1), winner of the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and Northeastern State University (15-2-1), also a member of the MIAA, in the quarterfinals of the NCAA II Tournament in Hays. Dates and times for the regional championship game are to be announced.

The top half of the Midwest Regional bracket is being hosted by 22nd-ranked and top-seeded Tiffin University (15-4-0). Tiffin, the winner of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament, will play the winner of the fourth-seeded Ohio Valley University (16-5-0), the runner-up in the G-MAC, and fifth-seeded Maryville University (10-4-4), the GLVC Tournament champion.

USI is coming off its first Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season championship since 1990, posting a 13-3-1 overall record and an 11-1-1 mark in the GLVC. The squad bowed out of the GLVC Tournament in the quarterfinals when it lost to Rockhurst University, 3-1.

The NCAA II Tournament appearance is the third in the history of the program for USI. The Eagles got by Quincy University on penalty kick before falling to Rockhurst University in 2016. USI lost its first appearance to Oakland University at Strassweg Field in 1982.

Coverage of all of the Eagles’ action in the NCAA II Midwest Regional, including links for live stats and GLVC Sports Network, can be found on GoUSIEagles.com. More information about the NCAA II Men’s Soccer Tournament is on NCAA.com, including the bracket for the entire 38-team field.

The NCAA II Tournament semifinals and final are scheduled for November 29 and December 1 at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.