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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — On Monday, the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Committee announced the field of 64 teams for the 2022 NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship. It was unveiled that the Kenyon College Owls will be hosting first- and second-round matches, opening the NCAA Tournament with two games on Mavec Field on Friday, Nov. 11, before the second-round game on Saturday, Nov. 12.
It is Kenyon’s ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth and the 18th overall appearance in program history. The Owls earned an at-large bid after compiling a 16-1-1 record. Kenyon claimed a regular-season North Coast Athletic Conference title after not conceding a point all season before making it to the NCAC Tournament Championship. Despite leading 1-0 at the half of the championship match, Ohio Wesleyan University stunned Kenyon at home with a 2-1 upset, handing the Owls their first loss of the season and being the only team to avoid losing to Kenyon after tying the Owls in the regular season. Heading into the NCAC finale, Kenyon was ranked No. 3 in United Soccer Coaches (USC) and D3soccer.com national Top-25 polls.
Kenyon will open their NCAA Tournament run by welcoming Greenville University to Gambier. The Panthers went 11-3-5 and earned an automatic bid after winning the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Championship with a 1-0 win over top-seeded Webster University. IT will be Greenville’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018 when the Panthers fell 4-0 against Calvin University in the opening round.
Friday’s other first-round matchup on Kenyon’s Mavec Field will feature the Calvin University Knights and the Carnegie Mellon University Tartans. Calvin, ranked No. 10 by D3soccer.com and No. 17 by the USC, claimed the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association’s (MIAA) automatic bid after clinching a 3-0 win over Hope College in the MIAA Tournament Championship. The Knights were 16-2-2 this year and will be making an eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance that has included two runs as the runner-up in the National Championship in 2016 and 2018. Carnegie Mellon, ranked No. 25 in D3soccer.com’s poll and receiving votes in the USC Top 25 poll, garnered an at-large bid after falling in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship to No. 25-ranked Case Western Reserve University. The Tartans went 11-4-1 overall, returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018, when they fell 2-1 in Gambier, Ohio, against No. 10-ranked Kenyon College in the second round.
Friday’s opening match between Kenyon and Greenville is set for an 11 a.m. kickoff on Mavec Field. Following the completion of the opening game, Calvin and Carnegie Mellon are set to square off at 1:30 p.m. on Mavec. Saturday’s match will feature the two winners from Friday and is scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Mavec Field.
