The Fort Hays State women's soccer team was selected into the NCAA Division II National Tournament for the second-straight year on Monday night (Nov. 13). The tournament appearance marks the fourth in program history. The Tigers earned the No. 7 seed out of eight teams in the Central Region after posting a 13-4-3 overall record to this point for the season.
 
Fort Hays State will travel to Emporia, Kansas for a rematch of last season's national tournament opening round match against No. 2 seed Emporia State on Friday (Nov. 17) at 1 p.m. The Hornets jumped up in the regional rankings after taking home the MIAA Tournament title last weekend with a 3-2 win in the championship over Central Missouri. The Hornets come into the tournament with a 12-5-4 overall record and are winners of their last eight matches.
 
The Tigers and the Hornets have already met two times this season, both in regular season play. Fort Hays State has the upper hand this season with a record of 1-0-1 in the two meetings. FHSU and ESU played to a 1-1 draw in a non-conference contest on September 17, then FHSU won 3-1 in the conference meeting between the teams in Emporia, which was played at Emporia High School. The Tigers also lead the all-time series over the Hornets at 9-6-8, but the Hornets ended the Tigers' season last year with a 5-1 win in the regional quarterfinal match, which took place in Warrensburg, Mo.
 
The rest of the regional qualifying field is composed of Washburn, St. Cloud State, Minnesota State, Central Missouri, Bemidji State, and Ouachita Baptist. St. Cloud State and Bemidji State square off in the other opening round match taking place in Emporia. If victorious on Friday, the Tigers would take on the winner of the St. Cloud and Bemidji match. That match would serve as the regional semifinal and is scheduled for Sunday (Nov. 19) in Emporia at 1 p.m.
 
Over the program's history, Fort Hays State has a record of 1-3-1 in NCAA Tournament matches. The Tigers' lone win was in 2016 when they defeated Harding in the opening round in Mankato, Minn. The Tigers then advanced to the Round of 16 that season when they played to a draw with regional site host Minnesota State and won a penalty kick shootout.
 
Live stats and video will be available for this weekend's matches at the links provided above.