INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- For the first time in ODAC history, three league schools earned a spot in the Division III Men's Soccer Championship field as announced on NCAA.com on Monday morning. Conference champion
University of Lynchburg is joined by at-large entries
Hampden-Sydney College and
Washington and Lee University on the national stage.
The Division III men's soccer bracket includes 64 teams with 43 qualifying automatically as conference champions like Lynchburg. The remaining 21 entrants were determined by ranking in NCAA Power Index (NPI). Hampden-Sydney slotted 23rd in the final table, while Washington and Lee ranked 29th. That translated to the 14th and 19th at-large selections, respectively.
All teams in a given sport -- 402 in D-III men's soccer -- earn a NPI rating. Those NPI ratings are ranked sequentially and form a transparent method of selecting teams at-large to Division III brackets, replacing the former process of the sport championship committees selecting teams at-large based on predetermined selection criteria. Once the 43 automatic qualifiers are known, the next 21 best NPI-rated teams formed the list of at-large selected programs to fill out the bracket.
Lynchburg (17-1-2) and Hampden-Sydney (13-3-2) were both selected to host first and second round games on Saturday and Sunday. Washington and Lee (11-4-5) will travel to start its journey. All three ODAC programs are situated in the lower-right quadrant of the bracket.
Lynchburg, ranked fourth in the NPI and 13th by the United Soccer Coaches, opens with Transylvania University in the first round at 1:00 p.m. ET. The Pioneers (14-2-3) won the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) title and are ranked 88th in the NPI. The other first round game in the Hill City features Berry College and Christopher Newport University. The Vikings (11-5-5) claimed the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) championship and appear 73rd NPI chart. The Captains (12-2-5) won the Coast-to-Coast Conference (C2C) crown and are slotted 19th in the NPI.
Hampden-Sydney, ranked 23rd by the United Soccer Coaches, open their NCAA run against Otterbein University (Ohio) at 3:00 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Cardinals (11-2-6) won the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) AQ and ranked 53rd in the NPI. The Tigers also host a first round contest between Emory University and Maryville College (Tenn.). The Eagles (13-1-3) are positioned fifth in the NPI and earned an at-large bid out of the University Athletic Association (UAA). The Scots (19-3-6) won the Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) title and slot 103rd in the NPI.
Washington and Lee travels to Carlisle, Pa., and the campus of Dickinson College to meet Denison University (Ohio) in the first round at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Big Red (14-2-3) are an at-large selection out of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) with the 31st-best NPI. The host Red Devils (13-0-7) own the 22nd-highest NPI after claiming their first Centennial Conference trophy since 2011. They meet North Carolina Wesleyan University in the first round. The Battling Bishops (9-8-2) won the USA South Athletic Conference (USAS) title and are positioned 124th in the NPI.
The 16 winners from the opening-round pods will compete in four more four-team units in the section rounds on Saturday and Sunday, November 22-23. The four teams that advance from that weekend take a week off before traveling to ODAC country for the national semifinal games on Friday, December 5, and ultimately the national championship game on Sunday, December 7. The ODAC in conjunction with Roanoke College and the City of Salem serves as hosts of not only the final three games in Division III men's soccer, but also the women's soccer championship. The Maroons' Donald J. Kerr Stadium will serve as the host of those events for the fourth time in Division III history.