Nov. 10, 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Cinderella does not have far to travel for her first stop at the Big Dance.  The Belmont women's soccer team (13-6-3) will take on Auburn (11-8-2) in a first round match-up in the 2008 Division I Women's Soccer Championship.  The Bruins will take on the Tigers on Friday, November 14 at Auburn, beginning at 5 p.m. CT.  Belmont is one of seven teams to make it's first-ever appearance in the national tournament in 2008.

Auburn, who was eliminated in the first round of the SEC Tournament this season, finished its regular season with an 11-8-2 record and a 7-3-1 league mark.  The Tigers have the SEC's top newcomer in 2008 Freshman of the Year Katy Frierson among their ranks.  She led Auburn in goals (9) and was third in assists (7) to tally a team-leading 25 points.

Auburn is also serving as host for the game between No. 2 Florida State (14-2-3) and Mississippi Valley State (9-10-0).  Times of the first round matches, which will be played at the Auburn Soccer Complex, are 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.  The winners of Friday's games will meet at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

"We are really excited," said Head Coach Lisa Howe.  "Auburn is a good team.  I saw them when they played Vanderbilt here.  It will be a huge challenge for us but that has been the theme of our season."

The top 16 teams are seeded and conference teams cannot play each other in the first or second rounds. When pairing teams, the committee follows geographic proximity parameters. Sites are selected for the first and second rounds to create the least number of flights.  Twelve of the top 16 seeds will be hosting first- and second-round competition.

First-round matches will be played Friday, November 14, at campus sites, and second-round matches will be played Sunday, November 16, at the same campus sites.  The first-round contest hosted by Brigham Young will be played Thursday, November 13 with the second-round game to be played Saturday, November 15. Third-round games will be played at on-campus sites November 21, 22 or 23. Quarterfinal matches will be played November 28, 29 or 30. Times will be announced.

The 27th annual NCAA Women's College Cup will be played December 5 and 7 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. North Carolina State University will serve as host.

For a PDF of the complete 2008 Division I Women's Soccer Championship, please click here.

More information about the First Round of the 2008 Division I Women's Soccer Championship can be found here.