SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the teams and pairings for the 2020-21 NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship Opening Round, and host Spring Arbor University will be the No. 1 seed in the Spring Arbor Bracket.
 
Spring Arbor will take on No. 4-seed University of Northwestern Ohio in the first matchup of the single-elimination bracket starting at 1 p.m. on Thursday. Later that afternoon, at 5 p.m., No. 2-seed Lindsey Wilson will square off against No. 3-seed Briar Cliff.
 
The winners of the two Thursday matchups will meet on Saturday at 3 p.m.
 
The Spring Arbor Bracket winner will join the winners of the other nine brackets at the final site in Foley, Alabama to play out the rest of the tournament beginning on Tuesday, Apr. 27 and running through Monday, May 3.
 
Head coach Jason Crist and the SAU squad are making their 11th consecutive appearance in the opening round. The Cougars, who finished second in the Crossroads League standings this season, boast an 11-2-1 record and were ranked No. 7 in the latest Top 25 poll.
 
Northwestern Ohio comes into the game at 8-3-0 overall. The Racers, ranked No. 20 in the poll, finished as the runner-up in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference.
 
Lindsey Wilson, making its NAIA-best 22nd appearance in the national tournament, compiled a 9-3-0 record and earned an at-large bid following a third place finish in the Mid-South Conference. The Blue Raiders are currently ranked No. 15 in the Top 25 poll.
 
Briar Cliff is making its first tournament appearance after winning the Great Plains Athletic Conference regular season title. The Chargers own a 12-2-2 record and are ranked No. 18 in the Top 25 poll.
 
Capacity at the Cougar Soccer Complex will be limited to 300. Tickets will be on a first come, first serve basis. Ticket prices will be $7 for adults, $4 for students and children under 5 will be admitted free.
 
Fans unable to attend the games can follow the action at saucougars.com/csn. Each game will be pay-per-view, and the live stream will cost $8 per stream.