Armstrong Hosts NCAA DII Women's Soccer 3rd & 4th Round Matches

SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Armstrong Atlantic State University women's soccer team will host the 2011 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer 3rd and 4th Round matches on Friday, November 18th, and Sunday, November 20th at the Armstrong Soccer Field.

The region finals of the South and Southeast Regions will be crowned on Friday as top-seeded and No. 7-ranked Armstrong (16-2-3) will face No. 13-ranked and defending Southeast Region champion Lenoir-Rhyne (17-2-1) at 11:00 a.m. Third-seeded and No. 19-ranked Tampa (15-5-2) and fifth-seeded Lynn (11-6-1) will then meet at 1:30 p.m. to crown the South Region champion.

On Sunday, the winners of both regions will meet at 1:00 p.m. with a berth into the 2011 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Final Four on the line. Pensacola, Fla., will be the site of the Final Four on Dec. 1 & 3.

This is the highest NCAA competition that Armstrong has hosted since it was the host of the 2005 NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships at the Savannah Westin and also serves as the highest competition that the Pirates have ever hosted on campus.

Friday's morning matchup is a battle of the top two seeds in the Southeast Region, who played a memorable 1-0 contest in last year's region final, won by Lenoir-Rhyne on Laura Linehan's goal in the 54th minute. The Bears captured the South Atlantic Conference regular season title and are led by two-time SAC Player of the Year Catherine Hauck, as well as All-SAC and All-Region midfielder Carley Griffin. Lenoir-Rhyne advanced past No. 20 Columbus State on penalty kicks, 5-3, after drawing with the Cougars in its second-round match on Sunday.

The host Pirates blitzed through the Peach Belt Conference without a loss, finishing 9-0-1 in the league en route to its second straight regular season crown. Armstrong then won three one-goal matches in the PBC Tournament to notch its second tournament title onNadima Skeff's tally with 12 seconds remaining to down Columbus State, 1-0. Led by co-PBC Player of the Year Kristina Pascutti and All-PBC and All-Region defender Kelli Bahr and midfielder Morgan Mitchell, the Pirates advanced to the region final after a 2-0 win over North Georgia on Sunday in the second round.

The meeting will be the second all-time between the two schools, with the first coming in that region final match last season.

In the South Region, No. 19-ranked Tampa makes its first South Region title match berth in --- years after knocking off second-seeded Rollins, 2-0, on Sunday in NCAA second round action. The Spartans received goals from Brittan Spence and Lauren Moore in the win over the Tars, which followed up a 2-0 victory over Rollins which came just a week earlier in the Sunshine State Conference tournament final, the fifth league tournament title for Tampa. The Spartans are the highest-scoring team in the league with 52 goals in their 22 matches.

Lynn, meanwhile, entered the region as the No. 5 seed and knocked off Florida Tech, 1-0, in the first round, then upset region top seed and No. 6 Saint Leo, 2-1, on Sunday in the second round to become the second-lowest seed in this year's NCAA Championships to reach a region final. The Knights are led by co-SSC Player of the Year Melissa Ortiz, who has tallied 10 goals - five game-winners - this season.

The South Region final will be the rubber match between the two schools in 2011 as Lynn won the regular season matchup, 1-0, on Oct. 6 in Tampa, but Tampa won a 2-1 decision in the first round of the Sunshine State Conference tournament on Nov. 1.

Admission to each day's action is $7 for adults, $4 for senior citizens and $1 for students with valid ID and children under 12. Fans who can not make the games can follow along with live statistics and a live webcast at the tournament website on armstrongpirates.com .