The Ohio Wesleyan University men's soccer team will face North Coast Athletic Conference rival Kenyon in a sectional semifinal game of the NCAA Division III tournament, it was announced by the NCAA on Monday.

Ohio Wesleyan and Kenyon will play in one sectional semifinal contest to be hosted by Kenyon at 11 a.m. on Saturday in Gambier.  Saturday's other sectional semifinal matches Christopher Newport (Va.) against Whitworth (Wash.) at 1:30 p.m..  The winners of Saturday's sectional semifinals will square off in a national quarterfinal game at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Kenyon.

Ohio Wesleyan (16-4-3) advanced to the sectionals by defeating Penn State-Behrend, 3-2, in overtime and advancing on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie against Calvin.  Ohio Wesleyan was an at-large selection to the NCAA Division III tournament.  The Battling Bishops won the North Coast Athletic Conference championship with an 8-0-1 record, Ohio Wesleyan's seventh consecutive NCAC title.  Ohio Wesleyan advanced to the championship game of the NCAC tournament, falling to Kenyon in overtime by a 2-1 count.  Ohio Wesleyan was ranked No. 14 in last week's NSCAA Division III rankings and No. 15 in last week's D3soccer.com rankings.  Ohio Wesleyan is making its NCAA-record 37th Division III playoff appearance.  The Battling Bishops won the NCAA Division III national championship in 1998 and 2011 and have made 9 appearances in the national semifinals.

Kenyon (18-1-2) advanced to the sectionals by defeating Heidelberg, 3-0, and advancing on penalty kicks after a scoreless tie against Thomas More.  The Lords won the NCAC tournament to take the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III tournament.  Kenyon was ranked No. 6 in last week's NSCAA Division III rankings and No. 4 in last week's D3soccer.com rankings.  The Lords are making their second consecutive and 11th overall NCAA Division III playoff appearance.  Kenyon advanced to the national championship game in 1996 and has made 2 national semifinal appearances.  Kenyon and Ohio Wesleyan have met 6 times in the NCAA Division III playoffs, with the Bishops holding a 5-1 advantage in those games.  The teams have met twice this season, playing to a scoreless tie on Oct. 21 in Gambier before Kenyon edged Ohio Wesleyan, 2-1 in overtime, in the NCAC tournament championship game on Nov. 8 at Ohio Wesleyan's Jay Martin Soccer Complex.  Ohio Wesleyan leads the all-time series, 53-11, with 9 games ending in a tie.

Christopher Newport (18-3-4) advanced to the sectionals with wins over Lynchburg (1-0) and Stevens Tech (4-2).  The Captains won the Capital Athletic Conference tournament by defeating Mary Washington, Salisbury, and Penn State-Harrisburg.  Christopher Newport went 4-2-3 in the CAC during the regular season.  Christopher Newport was ranked No. 17 in last week's NSCAA Division III rankings and No. 16 in last week's D3soccer.com rankings.  The Captains are making their sixth NCAA Division III tournament appearance in the last 7 seasons and their ninth overall appearance.  Ohio Wesleyan and Christopher Newport have met twice on the soccer pitch, most recently in 2013, when the Bishops won by a 3-2 count.

Whitworth (17-1-3) advanced to the sectionals with a 1-0 win over Covenant and a 2-0 win over Berry.  The Pirates won the Northwest Conference championship with a 10-1-3 record.  Whitworth was ranked No. 12 in both last week's NSCAA Division III rankings and last week's D3soccer.com rankings.  The Pirates are making their eighth overall NCAA Division III tournament appearance and advanced to the national semifinals in 2005.  Ohio Wesleyan and Whitworth have never met on the soccer pitch.

The winner of Sunday's national quarterfinal game will advance to the national semifinals, to be played on Friday, Dec. 5, at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Mo.

NCAA championship release
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NCAA championship bracket (interactive)