GREENVILLE, S.C. – The National Christian College Athletic Association has announced an eight-team field that will be competing in its 2025 DI Women's Soccer National Championship, beginning December 1^st in Kissimmee, Florida. The University of Northwestern, regular season champion of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, received an at-large bid for the first time in program history, and will be the No. 5 seed in the tournament.
 
The full NCCAA press release can be found here.
 
How did They Get Here?
A change in UNW's policy regarding at-large bid acceptance paved the way for the Eagles to be allowed into the field in year one under Head Coach Danny Brandt. Northwestern enters the event with an 11-6-3 record, coming off a 1-0 loss in the UMAC Tournament Championship to UW-Superior.
 
Know Your Foes
The field is divided into two pools, which will each play a round robin format with games on December 1^st, 2^nd and 4^th. UNW will begin the week against No. 4 Asbury at 1:30 PM CT on Monday, who enters the game with a record of 11-7-3 in 2025. The fellow Eagles were the No. 5 seed in the Collegiate Conference of the South Tournament, upsetting No. 4 Covenant and No. 1 Maryville before falling 2-1 to second-seeded Belhaven in the championship match. On Tuesday at 11:00 AM CT, Northwestern will take on No. 1 seed Bethel (Indiana), who owns a 9-7-2 record this season. The Pilots were the No. 6 seed in the Crossroads League Tournament, losing to third-seeded Grace, who is the No. 16 team in the NAIA national rankings, in the quarterfinals. The Eagles' final game of pool play will pit them against No. 8 Warner at 11:00 AM CT on Thursday, who automatically qualified for the tournament with a 2-1 win over Columbia International in the NCCAA South Region Championship. The Royals have a 5-10-2 record this season and finished eighth in The Sun Conference.
 
Eagles in the Event
2025 marks the fourth time Northwestern has participated in the NCCAA Women's Soccer postseason, but is the first instance where the Eagles have qualified for the National Championship field. UNW lost Regional Championship qualifiers in 2008, 2015 and 2017.
 
The top team in each pool once pool play has concluded will advance to the championship game on Saturday, December 6^th at 3:00 PM CT. Stay tuned to unweagles.com and thenccaa.org for more information and news pertaining to the tournament.