NCAA Tournament Notes | Live Stats | Bracket 

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Friday, November 11 will go down in history for the La Salle women's soccer program.  For the first time, the Explorers will get their chance on the big stage and will take on ACC-foe Maryland in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.  Opening kick off is set for 6 p.m. from Ludwig Field. 

"We are extremely proud to be included in the field of 64," said head coach Paul Royal in a press conference on Tuesday.  "It has been my dream since taking over this program nine years ago to hear our name called on selection Monday and I'm happy that experience could be shared with the team in such an exciting fashion.  We will have our hands full with a tough Maryland team on Friday night but we are ready for the challenge and opportunity to compete on the big stage."

The Explorers (15-1-3) had their Atlantic 10 Championship run prematurely ended by an upstart Massachusetts team that knocked off La Salle 1-0 in the quarterfinal round last Friday.  It was the first time La Salle had been shutout all season since a scoreless draw at home agaisnt Drexel in the second game of the season back on August 26. 

"Nobody expected it to end that way," Royal said.  "You have to give UMass credit for defending us but we need to be more efficient on the offensive end against Maryland."

La Salle posted a season-high 27 shots in the loss compared to just eight for UMass.  The Minutewomen scored early with the game-winner coming just two minutes into the game and were able to hold on late for the win.  The Explorers peppered the net in the second half with 17 shots but were still unable to come up with the equalizer. 

This Friday against Maryland, La Salle wil have to deal not only with a battle-tested ACC squad, but a hostile road environment, as Ludwig Field had a max capacity of 6,000 with attendance expected to be high. 

Maryland, who received an at-large bid to play in the tournament, is making its 12th overall appearance and boasts a record of 10-5-4 on the season. The No. 23 Explorers also received an at-large selection after winning the Atlantic 10 regular season title. The Terrapins and Explorers were put into the Stanford bracket.

The Terps hold the advantage in the all-time series with a 4-1-1 record against La Salle and have out-scored the Explorers 17-7 in the series.  The two schools have not met since 1993.

This is the first season for the 1-2-1-2 format that features 32 first round games played at campus sites. The winners of the first round games will move on to a second and third round pod at the site of the highest remaining team in the pod on the weekend of Nov. 18-20.

The winner of the Maryland-LaSalle match will play the winner of the No. 3 seed Auburn-Utah State match. The other half of the pod has Illinois hosting defending national champion Notre Dame and Arkansas-Pine Bluff traveling to No. 2 seed Oklahoma State.

Tickets for the Friday's first round match are $7 for adults and $4 for students, youth and seniors. Advance tickets are available through the Maryland ticket office by calling 1-800-IM-A-TERP.  Students who want to attend the game can also sign up for a free bus by putting down a refundable $5 deposit at the ticket office in the Hayman Center by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.