Lenoir-Rhyne, Wingate Earn Bids to NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship

INDIANAPOLIS – A day after playing for the SAC Championship title, Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate have earned selections to the 2012 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship. L-R is the No. 3 seed in the Southeast Region, while Wingate is seeded fourth.

By winning Sunday's SAC Championship title, Lenoir-Rhyne earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. Wingate, meanwhile, received an at-large selection from the Division II Soccer Committee.

Lenoir-Rhyne will play No. 6 seed Belmont Abbey in the first round on the campus of Columbus St., while Wingate will face No. 5 seed North Georgia at Armstrong Atlantic. All first round matches are scheduled for Friday, Nov. 9.

Lenoir-Rhyne enters the NCAA Championship with a 16-1-2 overall record. The Bears stormed through the SAC in 2012, winning the conference's regular-season title by going a perfect 9-0 before winning three tournament matches.

L-R has given up just 10 goals all season, led by keeper Caitlin Scruggs, who is sixth in the nation in save percentage and goals-against average.

Lenoir-Rhyne will be making its third-straight appearance in the NCAA Championship. Last season, the Bears reached the regional final before being eliminated by Armstrong.

Wingate went 14-2-2 overall this season and 8-1 in the conference. The Bulldogs have been led all season by SAC Player of the Year Jade Montgomery, the current Division II leader in points and goals.

WU closed its season on a tear, winning 11-straight matches before falling to L-R in the SAC Championship title match.

The Bulldogs' NCAA Championship selection is the second in program history. WU earned its first bid last season before being defeated by North Georgia in the first round.

Neither Lenoir-Rhyne nor Wingate played their first-round opponents during the regular season.

[Complete NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship bracket]