LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- The seeds and pairings are now set for the 2021 SCAC Women’s Soccer Tournament following the completion of the regular season schedule on Sunday, October 31st. In conjunction with the culmination of the regular season, the Women’s Soccer Championship website has been launched, which contains schedules, brackets and information related to the participating teams. Official Championships Website | Bracket
Southwestern University wrapped up its first SCAC regular-season title in program history after defeating Texas Lutheran University, 2-0, on Saturday. The victory also locked up the top seed in next weekend's conference tournament as the 21st-ranked Pirates completed the regular season with a 6-0-1 league mark and 19 points to sit atop the standings. Southwestern, who was defeated in the semifinal round of last year's championship, look to return to the title game for the first time since earning the program's first-ever tournament title on its home field at the 2019 championships.
Trinity University, which finished with a 6-1-0 league mark and 18 points, is the second seed at this year's event, the first time the Tigers have not been the top seed since the conference reinstated a postseason soccer tournament prior to the 2011 season. The 22nd-ranked Tigers saw their 127 consecutive conference regular season match win streak snapped when they dropped a 2-1 decision to Southwestern on Oct. 10. The defending champions of this event, Trinity has won 10 of the last 11 SCAC women's soccer tournaments.
The University of Dallas will be the third seed, locking up that line on the bracket after blanking Centenary College, 3-0, on Sunday. The Crusaders, who are hosting this year's event, finished the 2021 regular season with a 4-2-1 conference mark and 13 points, with seven of those points coming in the Crusaders final three matches. Included among those results was a 0-0 double overtime draw with top seed Southwestern on Oct. 24, making UD the only team to get a result against the conference regular season champions. Playing in the same three seed slot a year ago, Dallas advanced to the conference final before falling to Trinity, 1-0.
Rounding out the field in the 2021 SCAC Tournament is the fourth-seed, Texas Lutheran University. The Bulldogs picked up wins in two of their last three matches, and coupled with Dallas' victory over Centenary on Sunday, held on for the final tournament slot. TLU finished with a 3-4-0 league mark for nine points and looks to advance to the conference tournament final for the fourth time in program history and the first since 2017. As the host of last year's event, the Bulldogs were eliminated in the semifinal round by eventual champion Trinity.
This year's championship tournament will also have eyes from across the nation focused on results. In the most recent NCAA regional rankings, the SCAC had the top two teams in Region X with Trinity ranked first and Southwestern second. The NCAA regional rankings are used to determine at-large berths into the national tournament.
Dallas will serve as host of this year’s event, which is scheduled to open on Friday, November 5th at 5 p.m. CT when No. 1 Southwestern takes on No. 4 Texas Lutheran in the opening semifinal fixture. The second semifinal is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT between No. 2 Trinity and No. 3 Dallas. The two semifinal winners will meet on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
The seeds for this year's women's tournament are as follows:
1) Southwestern (6-0-1; 19 points)
2) Trinity (6-1-0; 18 points)
3) Dallas (4-2-1; 13 points)
4) Texas Lutheran (3-4-0; 9 points)
