Indianapolis, Ind. -- The University of Lynchburg men's soccer team will host a four-team pod in the opening weekend of the NCAA 2023 Division III men's soccer championship. The Hornets take on Ohio Northern at 3:30 on Saturday, Nov. 11.
No. 1-ranked Messiah and Baruch make up the rest of the pod. Those two teams play Saturday at 1 p.m. The winners of the two matchups Saturday square off in the Round of 32 on Sunday, Nov 12 at 3 p.m. Shellenberger Field is the site for all three matches.
Lynchburg earned an automatic bid into the field of 64 teams after winning its 19th Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship on Sunday. The Hornets defeated Washington and Lee 3-1 behind two goals from the tournament's most outstanding player, Zach Whelan, and another score from Manzi Shalita.
The team's leading goal scorer, Luke Mega, scored in the semifinals of the ODAC tournament. He has 10 goals on the season and 54 for his career which is the third-most in the history of the ODAC.
Lynchburg has 19 conference titles, and head coach Chris Yeager and the Hornets have won five of the last 10, and three of the last four. Yeager led the Hornets to the national championship game in 2010. The Hornets have made 19 trips to the NCAA tournament.
Messiah is undefeated on the season with its only draw coming in mid September. Messiah won its conference for the fifth-straight time on Saturday. Baruch college hairs from the Big Apple and claimed its eight championship in the City University of New York Athletic Conference. Lynchburg's draw, Ohio Northern is making its 10th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Ohio Northern earned an automatic bid into the tournament after winning the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament title with a 3-1 victory at No. 25-ranked Otterbein.
See the full bracket here. Stay tuned for an update on tickets and live streaming.
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