The University of Scranton women's soccer team (13-3-3) will battle McDaniel (11-3-5) in NCAA Tournament First Round action on Saturday at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va., as announced this afternoon.

Saturday's other first round matchup will feature the host Captains (16-0-2) and Marymount (Va.) (7-9-5). The two winners then meet on Sunday to determine a berth in the Sweet 16.

The Royals are making the program's seventh straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and 22^nd appearance overall. Head coach Colleen Pivirotto's squad has advanced past the first round in each of the last five seasons and has made consecutive appearances in the Sweet 16.

In Saturday's 3-0 Landmark title game victory over Catholic, senior Niamh Healy (Orangeburg, N.Y./Tappan Zee) scored a pair of goals in the first half and junior Emily Bannon (Middletown, N.Y./Minisink Valley) added an insurance goal in the second 45 minutes to seal the Royals' fourth straight conference crown.

McDaniel earned an at-large bid out of the Centennial Conference after falling to Johns Hopkins in Friday's conference semis and is back in the field of 64 for the first time since 2021.

The host Captains defeated UC Santa Cruz in penalty kicks in Sunday's Coast-to-Coast conference title game to earn the right to host this weekend. They are back in the tournament after advancing to the Elite Eight in 2022.

Marymount (Va.) is making the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance after a 1-0 overtime win over Marywood in the Atlantic East Conference title game behind Minnie Morris' game-winning goal.

Click here to view the full 2023 NCAA Division III women's soccer bracket. Ticket info, game times and a full preview will be posted at athletics.scranton.edu later this week.

--ROYALS--