Kansas City, MO - The twelfth seed Cumberlands Patriots earn their seventh consecutive bid to the NAIA Tournament after receiving an at-large bid. UC will be hosting the Xavier University of Louisiana Gold Rush at the UC Soccer Complex in the Williamsburg Bracket, marking the second consecutive year the Patriots have hosted the NAIA Opening Round.  

This season, the Patriots continued their strong form and currently sit at an overall record of 8-5-4. UC had three wins over ranked opponents this season, #4 Bethel, #6 Lindsey Wilson University, and #9 Cumberland University. The Patriots clinched the conference regular season title with a 5-1 conference record, including five shutouts. UC has tallied 26 goals and eight shutouts thus far and looks to improve these numbers as they move into the NAIA Tournament.  

For the Gold Rush, they enter the first round of the NAIA Tournament with an overall record of 13-4-2. The Gold Rush clinched the regular season title of the Red River Athletic Conference for their bid to the first round. Xavier University of Louisiana will be making their second appearance in the NAIA National Tournament in program history.  

Cumberlands is joined by Lindsey Wilson, Cumberland, and Bethel (Tenn.) as the four MSC representatives in the second round of the NAIA Tournament. Bethel won the MSC Tournament while the other two schools received at-large bids.  

UC will take on Xavier on Saturday, November 22. The Patriot's match is set for 3:00 p.m. (EST) in Williamsburg, KY. The winners of the Second-Round matchup will advance to the Final Site in Orange Beach, Alabama at the Orange Beach Sportsplex on December 1-8. 

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