The University of Maine at Fort Kent men’s and women’s soccer teams are headed to Charleston, West Virginia, as the No. 1 seeds for the USCAA Soccer National Championships.
The women’s team will be looking to repeat and win its fourth championship in five seasons, while the men’s team will try to avenge last season’s overtime defeat in the championship game to host West Virginia Tech.
The UMFK women will enter the tournament with a 12-2-1 record. They will await the winner of No. 8 seed Albany Pharmacy vs. No. 9 West Virginia Tech. UMFK will player the winner at 5 p.m. Nov. 6. UMFK beat Albany Pharmacy in September.
On the other side of the bracket is UMFK rival Daeman College, which earned the No. 3 seed and is the only USCAA team that defeated UMFK earlier this season in New York. Earning the No. 2 seed is SUNY of Syracuse, which UMFK defeated 3-2, after coming back from a 2-0 deficit.
The UMFK men will enter the tournament unbeaten with an 18-0-1 record, the tie coming against NCAA Division II foe, Roberts Wesleyan. The Bengals lead the USCAA in goals with 110, almost six per match.
The UMFK defense has given up only seven goals in 19 matches. Waiting on the other side of the men’s bracket will be host and defending national champion West Virginia Tech, which comes in with a 14-1-1 record, but was not able to make the trip to Fort Kent for a scheduled regular-season match.
The other challenger will be Bryant & Stratton College. The team out of Syracuse is unbeaten at 10-0-1 and has given up just one goal all season. UMFK will open play at 5 p.m. Nov. 6 against the winner of the contest between No. 8 Cleary University and No. 9 Washington Adventist.