TLU Men's Soccer faces Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in NCAA D3 tourney first round (1 p.m. Saturday)
SEGUIN, Texas -- Texas Lutheran Men's Soccer, champions of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, will face Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship.
The match will be played at 1 p.m. central (11 a.m. pacific) Saturday at Trinity University's McGinlay Field, on the Trinity campus in San Antonio.
The four-team pod also includes Trinity (Texas) and University of Texas at Dallas. The Tigers and Comets will play at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, also at McGinlay Field.
The pod championship match is set for 3 p.m. Sunday, also at McGinlay Field.
TLU (15-5) will make its second-ever NCAA DIII Men's Soccer Championship appearance.
The Bulldogs won the American Southwest Conference Championship in 2002, with current head coach Eddie Salazar as its central defender, and lost to Trinity in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. That match was played at TLU's Gustafson Field on Nov. 13, 2002.
CMS (14-3-2) will play in its 17th all-time NCAA DIII tournament. The Stags are back in the tournament for the first time since 2012.
The Stags won the 2019 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship with a 2-0 victory over Redlands (Calif.).
CMS is 11-17-0 all-time in the NCAA tournament. The Stags were the national runner-up in 1983.
Trinity is an at-large selection out of the SCAC. TLU defeated Trinity in the SCAC semifinal 2-0 on Friday. Trinity has an overall mark of 11-6-2. TLU is 1-2 against Trinity this year.
The Tigers, the 2003 national champions, are making their 23rd appearance in the NCAA tournament. Trinity is 44-20-3 in the NCAA DIII Championship.
Trinity is 3-2 this year against teams in the San Antonio pod. In addition to their 2-1 record against TLU, the Tigers are 1-0 against UTD and 0-1 against CMS. Trinity defeated UTD 2-1 on Aug. 30 in San Antonio and lost to CMS 3-1 in Richardson, Texas on Sept. 6.
UTD (17-3-2) won the 2019 ASC Championship with a 1-0 win over Concordia Texas. The Comets will make their sixth NCAA tournament appearance. UTD is 1-5 all-time in the NCAA tournament.
The Comets are 1-1 against San Antonio pod teams. UTD lost to Trinity 2-1 in overtime in that Aug. 30 contest and defeated CMS on the Comets' home field in Richardson by a score of 1-0 on Sept. 7.
Ticket prices for each day of the weekend games, set by the NCAA, are: $6 general admission, $3 for students with I.D. and seniors (age 55 and over), and $2 for children ages 3-12.
The gates will open each day 1-1/2 hours before game time. Tickets may be purchased at that time.
As the host, Trinity will provide video and live stats for all matches. Links to all the matches are here: