PEMBROKE – A 14-win season proved to be even more fruitful for the UNC Pembroke soccer team on Monday evening when the Braves earned their fourth NCAA Tournament berth, and their first since taking home the Peach Belt Conference title in 2017.
 
The fifth-seeded Braves (14-4-1) battle fourth-seeded Lincoln Memorial (16-4-0) on Friday at 3 p.m. in opening-round action at Flagler College's Saints Field. The winner of that contest will face the victor of Friday's nightcap (6 p.m.) between the host and top-seeded Saints (19-0-1) and eighth-seeded Catawba (11-3-3) on Sunday.
 
The Braves and Flagler were among three Peach Belt Conference teams to pick up NCAA Tournament invitations during Monday evening's selection show. Third-seeded North Georgia (15-2-2) will make the trip to the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University to face sixth-seeded Mount Olive (14-0-3). The second-seeded Bears (15-3-0) will face seventh-seeded Wingate (13-4-2) in the other half of that bracket.
 
Friday's first-round match will mark UNCP's fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, but first since 2017. The Braves made their first trip to the postseason in 2008 and won their opening-round bout with Pfeiffer before falling to Carson-Newman in the second round. In 2010, the Black & Gold once again knocked off Pfeiffer in the first round, but fell to Armstrong State in the second round.
 
The Black & Gold dropped a 1-0 overtime heartbreaker to Queens in the opening round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
 
Lincoln Memorial earned an automatic berth into the NCAA postseason by virtue of an unblemished run through the South Atlantic Conference Tournament, including a 1-0 victory over then-No. 8 Lenoir-Rhyne in the semifinal round. Sophomore Jessica Cravero leads the Railsplitters with 17 goals this season, while goalkeeper Emanuely Costa has tallied 66 saves while maintaining a 0.76 goals against average.
 
Friday's contest will also mark the first-ever meeting between the women's soccer teams at UNCP and Lincoln Memorial.
 

2019 NCAA Southeast Region Tournament
at St. Augustine, Fla.
Game 1	#5 UNC Pembroke (14-4-1) vs. #4 Lincoln Memorial (16-4-0)	Friday	3 p.m.
Game 2	#1 Flagler (19-0-1) vs. #8 Catawba (11-3-3)	Friday	6 p.m.
Game 3	Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2	Sunday	2 p.m.
at Hickory, N.C.
Game 4	#3 North Georgia (15-2-2) vs. #6 Mount Olive (14-0-3)	Friday	3 p.m.
Game 5	#2 Lenoir-Rhyne (15-3-0) vs. #7 Wingate (13-4-2)	Friday	6 p.m.
Game 6	Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5	Sunday	2 p.m.
at. Site TBD
Game 7	Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 6	December 5 or 6	TBA