The Wildcats will take on Angelo State University for the third time this season in their first NCAA Division II tournament appearance in the program’s history. St. Edward’s University earned the top seed in the region and will host the Wildcats and Rambelles in Austin.

“I don’t think our game plan against them is going to be any different,” head coach Casey Wilson said. “We are looking to come out and play well and pass well, and hopefully things will take care of themselves.”

ACU has already overachieved this season, as it was originally picked fifth in the conference at the beginning of the year. ACU won the conference tournament last weekend and leads the LSC this season in goals.

After winning the LSC tournament, the Wildcats were given the fourth seed in the South Central Region. ASU lost to the Wildcats in the second round of the tournament but held onto the fifth seed in the region. The winner of this first round match will take on the St. Edward’s Hilltoppers, who went 16-1-1 this season and earned the top seed in the region.

“Year in and year out St. Edwards is one of the top programs in our region,” Wilson said. “However, I don’t expect them to be better than the best we have already played this year. If we can continue to play well, we match up very well against them. We are focusing on Friday’s game first, then if we win we will move on to St. Edward’s.”

Both ACU and ASU will be making their first NCAA tournament appearances and will be seeking their first NCAA tournament wins. ACU defeated the Rambelles 3­-0 earlier this season in San Angelo and  again last weekend in the LSC tournament, 2-0.

St. Edward’s is making its fourth NCAA tournament appearance and second straight trip to the postseason. The Hilltoppers were unbeaten this season until last week when they lost the regular season finale to St. Mary’s.

On the other side of the bracket, second seed University of Central Missouri will host third seed Midwestern State University and sixth seed Truman State University. The UCM Jennies earned the second seed on a perfect 18-0 season. UCM will play the winner of LSC runner-up Midwestern State and Truman State. The winner of this side of the bracket will take on the winner of St. Edward’s ACU-ASU in the third round.

The Wildcats will take on the Rambelles at noon Friday, with the winner advancing to play the Hilltoppers on at 1 p.m. Sunday. The winner of this match will advance to the NCAA Sweet 16.

“We have looked forward to this since we started back in august,” said [position] Julie Coppedge. “We are so excited and we feel truly blessed to be where we are now. We are hoping to defeat Angelo for the third time. That’s what we are looking at right now – all that matters right now is ASU. We are focusing on how we play, not who we play.”