No. 2-Ranked Eagles Are No. 1 Seed For Midwest Region Tournament

Ashland University's women's soccer team was the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division II for six weeks earlier this season.
 
And while the Eagles finished the regular season at No. 2, they found out on Monday (Nov. 13) night that they are No. 1 once again – in the Midwest Region tournament.
 
The NCAA revealed the entire 2023 D-II women's soccer playoff field on Monday night, and Ashland is the top-seeded team in the Midwest. The Eagles will play host to a split regional at Ferguson Field on Thursday (Nov. 13) and Saturday (Nov. 15).
 
On Thursday at 3 p.m., No. 4 seed Northwood (15-3-3) will play No. 5 seed Cedarville (15-4-1) in an all-Great Midwest Athletic Conference split regional semifinal, then the Eagles (17-0-4) will face No. 8 seed Michigan Tech (8-4-7) at 6 p.m.
 
"It's the work that the group has put in the entire year," said Ashland head coach Cayleb Paulino. "It's an opportunity to showcase our group against some of the best in the country. Everybody's going to bring their best at this time of the year, so we're just excited for the challenge we face with Michigan Tech."
 
This is the Eagles' fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs. Ashland's women's soccer program has played in the NCAA Division II postseason 13 times (1997-2004, 2018-19 and 2021-23), reaching the D-II Final Four in 1998.
 
Former rivals in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Ashland has an 8-5-1 all-time series lead over the Huskies.
 
"For us, we still have to play our best and have a good game plan between now and Thursday night," Paulino said. "Knowing that we don't have to travel and we can take some time to really slow things down and be prepared for the rest of the week is an advantage for us."
 
A 56-team tournament (anywhere from 6-8 teams in eight regions, Midwest Region has eight teams), the D-II postseason will begin on Nov. 16 and 17, and the national championship game will be Dec. 9 at the Sportsplex at Matthews in Matthews, N.C..
 
In the Midwest Region, automatic qualifiers come from the winners of the Great Midwest, Great Lakes Valley Conference and Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournaments. The other five teams are chosen as at-large entries. There are 34 eligible teams in the region – 14 from the GLVC, 12 from the Great Midwest and eight from the GLIAC.