For the third year in a row, the University of Maine women’s soccer team will compete in the NCAA tournament. This year, the America East champs are headed for warmer weather.

Maine (6-7-4) will take on Central Florida (11-3-5) in an opening round match Friday in Orlando. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday.

The Black Bears, ranked No. 142 in RPI, defeated Vermont 3-2 (4-3 in penalty kicks) on Sunday to win their third consecutive conference championship. In its last seven matches, Maine has gone 4-1-2.

“Our team obviously has a lot of momentum,” Maine coach Scott Atherley said. “When you look at the last 15 days, we were in a situation where we had to play to get into our own conference tournament, to (Sunday’s) sudden-death penalty kick shootout. We just think we have a lot of confidence right now, where things have really started to take shape, and we’re playing our best stuff at the right time of year.”

The Golden Knights, ranked No. 30 in RPI, earned the quadrant’s seventh seed after falling in the Big 12 quarterfinals. Before that, UCF was unbeaten in its last nine regular-season matches, going 5-0-4.

Friday’s first-round winner will advance to face No. 2 Duke or Elon.

Maine is still looking for its first NCAA tournament victory; the Black Bears fell to No. 5 Wisconsin in 2024 and No. 4 Harvard in 2023.

Atherley said the tournament experiences should help in regulating emotions and sticking to a normal game routine.

“We just have to, one, be organized and have a really clear idea about what to expect from (our opponents), and then do the things we’re good at doing,” Atherley said. “And really, keep it simple. You don’t over-complicate things at this point in time.”

Two other Maine women’s soccer teams will travel for the NCAA Division III tournament this weekend.

The University of Southern Maine (11-10-2) won its fourth consecutive Little East Conference championship and will travel to Pennsylvania to take on Messiah (19-2), the seven-time defending MAC Commonwealth Conference champions.

The Huskies are still looking for its first tournament win while the No. 4-ranked Falcons have won the most Division III women’s soccer titles with six. Messiah, which has outscored opponents 60-5 this season, is led by senior forward Hannah Adair (14 goals, nine assists).

Sophomore midfielder Meghan Przybilla leads USM in goals (13) and assists (11). Her three-assist performance in the LEC final earned her the tournament’s most outstanding player distinction.

No. 24-ranked Colby (10-4-3) earned an at-large bid for the second straight season. The Mules will take on Montclair State (13-0-6) of New Jersey in Saturday’s first round in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Last year Colby reached the third round before falling to the eventual champion, Washington University-St. Louis. This will be Montclair State’s first tournament appearance since 2020.

NESCAC FIELD HOCKEY HOSTS

The Bates field hockey team won its first NESCAC championship on Sunday afternoon. The reward? A first-round bye in the NCAA Division III tournament.

Bates (15-3), No. 4 in the national rankings, will host the winner of the Stevens-Amherst game. Saturday’s second-round matchup is set for 11 a.m. Bates will also host Sunday’s quarterfinal matchup at 6 p.m.

This will be the third straight postseason appearance for Bates, which reached the quarterfinals last year.

Sophomore goalie Ava Donohue was named the NESCAC player of the week after notching back-to-back shutouts in the conference tournament.

After three years away from the postseason, Bowdoin (9-7) has returned and also will host. The Polar Bears finished the season on a five-game skid, three games decided by one goal, but a tough schedule allowed a No. 14 finish in the rankings.

Bowdoin will take on Scranton (17-3), the Landmark Conference champion, at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The winner will travel to Babson for the weekend’s second and third rounds.

BUSY AT BOWDOIN

Like last year, the Bowdoin men’s soccer team hopes to reach the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament. But this year the 10th-ranked Polar Bears have a chance to do it at home.

At 11 a.m. Saturday, Bowdoin (10-3-3) will host Lyon (Arkansas) College (10-6-3) at Pickard Field. The winner will take on Roger Williams or UMass-Boston in Sunday’s second-round match at 1 p.m.

Lyon, on a five-game win streak, won the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship in its first year of postseason eligibility.

Bowdoin fell to Middlebury in the NESCAC quarterfinals. Goalkeepers Alex Ainsworth and Oliver King have combined for 10 shutouts and 10 goals allowed on the season. Senior midfielder Tyler Huck leads the team in goals (10) and assists (seven).