SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos women's soccer team received an at-large bid to the NAIA National Tournament and will travel to face eighth-seeded Concordia (Ore.) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17. The winner will advance to the 16-team NAIA National Championship in Orange Beach, Ala.

The Schedule
NAIA National Tournament Opening Round
Cal State San Marcos (11-5-3) at No. 8-seed Concordia (Ore.) (15-2-2)
Portland, Ore. – Tuominen Yard
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Live video and play-by-play of CSUSM-Concordia will be available. Also, fans can follow along via live stats. Click the links above for access.

A Little History
The Cougars will be making their second straight appearance at the NAIA National Tournament and fourth in their last five seasons. In three appearances at the National Tournament, CSUSM is 1-3. The team's lone victory came in its first-ever game in the postseason tournament, a 2-0 win over Benedictine on Nov. 22, 2008.

Get to Know Concordia
The Cavaliers are no stranger to the NAIA postseason. Head coach Grant Landy, who sits third all-time with 287 wins at the NAIA level, has guided Concordia to 13 consecutive Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) titles and 13 straight appearances in the NAIA National Tournament. The Cavaliers are coming off an appearance in the 2011 NAIA Championship Match, in which they fell to Lee (Tenn.) 3-0. Concordia is ranked fifth nationally, and has advanced to the national quarterfinals in nine of the past 10 seasons. Alici Alarcon-Evans leads the Cavaliers with 19 points (seven goals, five assists) and Hannah Kimsey has registered 14 points (four goals, six assists). Goalkeeper Tori Talbutt has started all 18 games for the Cavs, surrendering just seven goals all season. Her 0.40 goals-against average is second-lowest in the nation.

Walkin' With A Limp, But Still Standing
Cal State San Marcos has survived a plague of injuries this season, with eight players from its opening day roster having missed the rest of the season or a portion of the season due to serious injury. In fact, four starters from CSUSM's first game against The Master's College were unable to play in the A.I.I. title game against Ashford on Nov. 10. Still, the Cougars were able to earn a berth to the national tournament, finishing 18^th in the MRPI and the highest-rated A.I.I. team to sneak in.

How's It Been?
CSUSM started 3-2-1 before stringing together a six-game unbeaten streak from Sept. 18 – Oct. 12. Since then, the Cougars are 3-3-1 over their last seven games.

A.I.I. Recap
Ashford (Iowa) avenged a 3-0 loss to CSUSM on Oct. 12 with a 1-0 victory in the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) title game on Saturday, Nov. 10. It marked just the second time in program history that the Cougars have lost an official game in the A.I.I. Tournament*, both times in the conference final (Lost 2-1 to Azusa Pacific in 2007). CSUSM raced past the University of Houston Victoria, 2-0, in the semifinal.

Tidbits
Saturday's game will be the furthest the Cougars have traveled for the NAIA National Tournament since they flew to Florida to play Azusa Pacific in 2008 … Azusa Pacific is 98.1 miles north of CSUSM … The Cougars are 3-1-1 against Top 25 teams this season … Kaleigh Dodson, Amanda Sears and Shelby Bush were named All-A.I.I. Tournament …  Freshman CSUSM goalkeeper Amanda Sears ranks 24^th nationally with a 0.87 goals against average.

*The Cougars were forced to forfeit its semifinal game against Thomas University (Ga.) in 2010 due to an ineligible player. CSUSM won that game on the field, 5-0, however.