Kansas City, MO- After securing an at-large berth into the NAIA National Tournament First and Second Round and garnering an opening round host site, the #3 Patriots women's soccer team will compete against IU Kokomo in the first round Thursday, November 17 at 3:30 p.m., announced by the national office on Monday. 

Cumberlands earned the #1 seed in the Williamsburg Bracket after holding the No.3 ranking in the NAIA since the middle of October. This is the fourth straight year that UC has qualified for an opening round and the second time since the 2020 season that they have hosted. 

The Patriots are boasting a 14-1-3 record on the year, after playing one of the toughest schedules in program history. UC has tallied 48 goals this season and 10 shutouts, with wins against six top-10 teams. 

The Patriots will face off against the #4 seed, IU Kokomo in the Williamsburg Bracket. The Cougars enter the opening round with a 14-2-3 record and recently won the River States Conference Tournament to earn an automatic bid and advnace to the national tournament for the first time in program history.

On the other side of the bracket, Indiana Wesleyan is the #2 seed and finished the regular season with a 13-3-2 record earned an at-large berth. They will play the #3 seed John Brown (Ark) who finished the regular season 15-4. John Brown just won their third consecutive Sooner Athletic tournament championship and is currently ranked No. 21.

The Mid-South Conference is well represented in the NAIA Opening Round with five teams qualifying. Lindsey Wilson, Campbellsville, UT Southern and Cumberland (TN) will also be representing the conference at opening round sites.

The winners of the matchups on Thursday will face off Saturday, November 19 with the chance to advance to the NAIA Final Site in Orange Beach, Alabama. 

For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics. Please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter- @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, TikTok- @ucpatriots, Youtube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.