2022 NCAA Division III Soccer Championship Bracket

Indianapolis, Ind. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse soccer team will host the first two rounds of the 2022 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships, the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Committee announced Monday. The Eagles earned an automatic bid to the 2022 national championships after capturing the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship (presented by Culver's) with a 3-2 victory over UW-Eau Claire Saturday, November 5 at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex.

UWL will host Greenville University (Ill.) in the first round Friday, November 11 at 3 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex. Illinois Wesleyan University will face Concordia University Wisconsin in the other first round matchup at 5:30 p.m. in La Crosse. The winners of the first round games will play in the second round Saturday, November 12 at 5 p.m.

Sixty-four teams were selected for the 2022 NCAA III Championships with 44 teams earning automatic bids. Sixteen four-team sites will conduct first- and second-round play on the first weekend of the championship, November 11-12 or 12-13. Second-round winners will advance to one of four sectional sites November 18-19 or 19-20. All games, except the semifinals and final, will be played on the campuses of competing institutions. Winners of the four sectionals will advance to the semifinals December 2 and championship game December 4 at Kerr Stadium in Salem, Virginia.

UWL will make its fifth appearance (2015, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022) in school history in the national championships, all coming under head coach Jason Murphy. The Eagles are 6-3-3 in NCAA Division III Championship history.

UWL made its first trip to the national tournament in 2015, falling to Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (Calif.) in the first round (3-0). UWL hosted the opening two rounds in 2017 and 2018.  In 2017, UWL defeated the College of St. Scholastica (Minn.) for its first tournament win (2-0) in school history in the opening round before earning a victory (1-0) over the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) in the second round. The Eagles advanced to the 2017 sectional final after a victory (2-1) over Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) in the sectional semifinals. UWL dropped its quarterfinal (4-0) at the University of Chicago (Ill.). 

In 2018, UWL defeated Wartburg (Iowa) in the opening round (2-0) and advanced to the sectional semifinal after a finishing in a tie (2-2) with St. Thomas (Minn.), but advanced with the win in penalty kicks (3-0). The Eagles fell to Washington (Mo.) in the sectional semifinal (3-0). 

Last season, UWL advanced to the NCAA III Quarterfinals for the second time in school history. The Eagles earned a 1-0 win over Wartburg (Iowa) in the first round and a 1-0 double overtime victory over St. Catherine (Minn.) in the second round. In the third round, UWL and Washington-St. Louis (Mo.) finished in a 1-1 tie, but the Eagles advanced with a 3-1 victory in the shootout. UWL and Loras College (Iowa) were tied, 2-2 after two overtimes, in the quarterfinals last season before Loras (Iowa) advanced to the national semifinals with a 4-3 shootout victory. 

UWL, 19-1-1 on the season, is tied for 13th on the United Soccer Coaches Top-25 Poll. The Eagles captured their fifth (1996, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022) regular season WIAC title this year with a 7-0 record. UWL won its fourth (1996, 2017, 2018, 2022) conference tournament title with Saturday's 3-2 victory over UW-Eau Claire. The Eagles extended their unbeaten streak to 16 (15-0-1) with Saturday's win while also earning their 12th straight victory overall. UWL's 19 wins are second most in single-season school history. The Eagles won a school record 20 games in 2017. The 12-game winning streak is tied for the second-longest in school history after winning 12 consecutive in 2017 and 14 in 2018. 

UWL and Greenville (Ill.) will be meeting for the first time. 

Ainsley Allan, the WIAC Offensive Player of the Year, leads UWL in goals (14) and points (30) this season. Claire Cater leads the team in assists (9) and is tied for second in goals (7) with Maggie Hernandez. Cater is second in points (23) and Hernandez third (21). McKenna Lloyd has compiled a 0.99 goals against average.