FLORENCE, SC – The Francis Marion University women's soccer program earned the third overall seed in the upcoming Southeast Regional of the NCAA Division II Tournament following the release of the bracket on Monday night. The Patriots will face sixth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne University on Friday (Nov. 13) at noon in the opening round.

The 56-team NCAA Tournament field will start with first-round matches on Friday, Nov. 13, and second-round matches on Sunday, Nov. 15. All games will be played on the campus of a participating institution and will consist of two sites per region.

The two finalists in each region will advance to the third-round competition to be played Friday, Nov. 20. Regional champions will meet in the quarterfinal round to be played Sunday, Nov. 22. The semifinals and championship games will take place December 3 and 5 at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

FMU (15-4-1) is the third seed in the Southeast Regional and will play sixth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne (13-6-1) on Friday, Nov.  13 at 12 p.m. in Dahlonega, Ga. No. 2 seed University of North Georgia (13-4-3) will face seventh-seeded Lees-McRae College (10-3-5) at 3 p.m. in the second match on Friday. The two winners will meet at 3 p.m. on Sunday. The Nighthawks of North Georgia rank #10 nationally, while the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne claimed the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Tournament title.

The other Southeast Regional site is at Columbus State University in Columbus, Ga., where fourth-seeded Catawba College (13-5-2) will face No. 5 seed UNC Pembroke (12-2-5) at 10 a.m., and the host #6 nationally ranked Cougars (15-3-2) play eighth-seeded Flagler College (7-6-5) at 1 p.m., also on Friday.

This is Francis Marion's fifth NCAA Tournament appearance and extends its streak to three straight selections to the national tournament. The Patriots previously played in the Big Dance in 1998, 2000, 2024, and 2025.

FMU returned an experienced group of players from the previous season while adding several impactful newcomers. Despite battling adversity through injuries, the Patriots still produced an outstanding 15-4-1 overall mark, which was capped off by winning the league tournament. The Patriots are led by Conference Carolinas Offensive Player of the Year graduate student Tehya Dave', who ranks 13th in NCAA Division II with 35 points (10 goals, 15 assists) and sits third nationally in total assists. Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year junior Alana Hunt headlines the Patriots defense that ranks 15th in DII in shutout percentage (0.650) and led the Conference Carolinas with a 0.654 goals-against average.

The Patriots program is under the direction of fourth-year head coach Sam Holmes, who has led FMU to a pair of Conference Carolinas Tournament Championships over the last three seasons and will be making his sixth trip to the NCAA Tournament in his coaching career.