Championship Central (Franklin Pierce)
Tournament Central (Bridgeport)

NCAA Championship selection show
NCAA Championship field announcement

RINDGE, N.H. (November 5, 2018) – Fresh off of Sunday evening’s Northeast-10 Conference Championship, the Franklin Pierce University women’s soccer team has been selected as the top seed in the NCAA Championship East Regional, and Sodexo Field will serve as a host site for the first and second rounds, as announced on Monday night by the NCAA. The Ravens earned an automatic bid as the NE10 champion, and first and second round play is set for Friday, Nov. 9 and Sunday, Nov. 11. Franklin Pierce will open its NCAA Championship on Friday against eighth-seeded Caldwell at 2 p.m. at Sodexo Field.

Franklin Pierce will be making its 21^st appearance all-time in the NCAA Championship field, and returns for the second straight season, after making 19 straight trips from 1992 through 2010. The Ravens are a five-time national champion (1999, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994) and have won 12 regional titles, since regional play began in 1996. Sodexo Field will serve as a host site for NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship play for the fifth time (2008, 2006, 2005, 2004).

The eight-team regional field will be split into a pair of sub-regional sites, hosted by the top two seeds. At Franklin Pierce, in addition to the game between the Ravens (15-1-2) and the Cougars (12-6-1), fourth-seeded Southern New Hampshire (14-4-2) will take on fifth-seeded LIU Post (13-3-3) at 11 a.m. on Friday. The two winners from Friday will advance to play at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Caldwell claimed the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference title, while SNHU and LIU Post earned at-large bids out of the NE10 and East Coast Conference, respectively. LIU Post finished as the ECC runner-up.

***UPDATE (10 a.m. Tuesday) -- Ticket prices for each day of the first and second rounds at Franklin Pierce will be as follows:

Adults -- $8
Children/Seniors -- $5
Students (with valid ID) -- $3
Per the NCAA, no complimentary admissions will be issued.

The Franklin Pierce Department of Athletics has announced it will subsidize the cost of the first 150 Franklin Pierce students each day, who will be admitted free of charge.

The other side of the East Regional will be hosted by ECC champion and second seed Bridgeport (14-4-1), at Knights Field in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The Purple Knights will host seventh-seeded Stonehill (13-6-0) on Friday, following a game between third-seeded Mercy (12-3-1) and sixth-seeded Saint Rose (13-4-3). Once again, the two winners will meet on Sunday. Stonehill and Saint Rose picked up at-large bids out of the NE10, while Mercy earned an at-large bid out of the ECC.

The winners at both sub-regional sites on Sunday will advance to the second weekend of NCAA Championship play, which will be hosted by the highest-remaining seed in the Atlantic Region. The two advancing teams from the Atlantic Region will join the East Region teams, with the third round of the tournament consisting of the regional title games on Friday, Nov. 16. The two regional champions will then meet in the national quarterfinal on Nov. 18.

NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship East Regional 

1. Franklin Pierce University* (15-1-2)
2. Bridgeport* (14-4-1)
3. Mercy (12-3-1)
4. Southern New Hampshire (14-4-2)
5. LIU Post (13-3-3)
6. Saint Rose (13-4-3)
7. Stonehill (13-6-0)
8. Caldwell (12-6-1)
* denotes host institutions

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics’ official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce soccer apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics’ online store (https://www.fpuravens.com/store).