GREENWOOD – The No. 23-ranked Lander men’s soccer team received the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Southeast Regional when the bracket was announced on Monday night. It’s the Bearcats’ third straight appearance in the postseason and 12th overall.
The Southeast Regional hosts six of the 38 teams in the field. Lander (12-3-2) will face sixth-seeded Lincoln Memorial (10-4-3) on Friday, Nov. 10, in Wingate, N.C. The winner will face host and second-seeded Wingate (14-4-1) on Sunday, Nov. 12 at _:__ p.m.
In the other half of the Southeast Region bracket, fourth-seeded Young Harris (11-3-2) will take on fifth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne (10-3-3) for the right to meet top-seeded Limestone (15-2-2).
The Southeast Region champion will square off against the South Region winner in the tournament quarterfinals.
In the South, top-seeded Palm Beach Atlantic (14-1-2) will play fourth-seeded Lynn (11-3-2), while second-seeded West Alabama (15-2-1) will face third-seeded Tampa (9-3-3).
The Bearcats are 5-8-4 all-time in the NCAA tournament. Lander’s stretch of three consecutive NCAA Tournament berths is the second longest in Bearcat history behind a five-year run from 2005 to 2009.
Lander, which swept the Peach Belt Conference regular season and tournament championships for the third time in program history, will attempt to earn their first NCAA Tournament win since 2013.
The Bearcats have been on a tear since 2015, posting a 40-10-5 (.773) overall record. Lander has also gone 21-2-2 (.880) in the PBC and won two consecutive regular season conference championships and tournament title. The Bearcats are unbeaten in the league over the past two years, the longest such stretch for the program since 1995-96.
