The UT Dallas women’s soccer team has been selected as one of 64 teams to play for the NCAA Division III National Championship.

The Comets  will make their second-ever trip to the NCAA Division III National Tournament as an at-large selection. The team meets American Southwest Conference rival Hardin-Simmons University (HSU) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Trinity University in San Antonio.

NCAA Division III National
Women’s Soccer Tournament

First & Second Rounds
San Antonio, Texas (hosted by Trinity University)

Saturday, Nov. 12
Trinity vs. St. Scholastica, 5 p.m.
UT Dallas vs. Hardin-Simmons, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 13
Winner vs. winner, 5 p.m.

 

Comet Spirit Send-Off

The Comet Spirit Program is planning a “Good Luck Send-Off” for the UT Dallas women’s soccer team at 9:30 a.m. Friday outside  the Activity Center. The UT Dallas  cheerleaders, Power Dancers and TEMOC will be on hand. Additionally, there will be a giant “Good Luck” card hanging inside the Activity Center that students can sign to show support for the team.

This will be the third meeting of the two teams this season. On Sunday, UT Dallas had a 12-game winning streak come to an end with a 2-0 loss at Hardin-Simmons in the American Southwest Conference title game. UT Dallas lost its regular season match against the nationally  ranked Cowgirls 1-0.

UT Dallas’ only other appearance in the NCAA Tournament came in 2002 after the Comets claimed the ASC title with a win over HSU. That season, UT Dallas hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament and opened with a 1-0 win over Washington & Lee before falling to Trinity, 1-0.

The Comets and HSU are no strangers on the soccer field with the two teams playing 26 times since 1998. The Cowgirls hold an 18-3-5 all-time advantage in the series. Saturday will mark just the second time the two teams have met on a neutral field, meeting in the 1998 ASC title game in Sherman.

The UT Dallas women are having one of their best seasons in program history, matching the school record for wins and shutouts (15).

The Comets are led by senior Leah Bowyer, with 19 goals and 10 assists.  Bowyer became the program’s all-time leader in points (133) and assists (29) this season and ranks second all-time at UT Dallas in goals scored (52). Sophomore goalkeeper Brittany Best is on pace to set the single-season record for individual goals against average, entering the national tournament with a 0.29 GAA.

If the Comets win Saturday, they will the play the winner of a match between Trinity and the  College of St. Scholastica of Duluth, Minn. That  game is  at 5 p.m. Sunday.