WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -- Heading to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2011 season, Eastern Connecticut State University Women's Soccer will be heading to Cambridge, Massachusetts, for the First Round and Second Round, taking on #4/#16 Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 11:00 AM on Saturday for the First Round, as announced by the NCAA on Monday morning.

If the Warriors advance to the Second Round, they will face either #7/#19 Messiah University or Nazareth University on Sunday at 1:00 PM. Eastern has never played any of the three other teams in their four-team region across the 40-year program history.

For MIT, they enter the tournament coming off their fourth consecutive New England Men's and Women's Small Conference Tournament Championship with a 20-2-1 record, having allowed just one goal since facing the nation's number one team, Washington University in St. Louis on October 4th, while the only other goal came in the NEWMAC Semifinals in a 2-1 victory over WPI. The Engineers' only two losses of the year came against nationally ranked teams, while last year, they made the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament, falling to #1 Washington University in St. Louis, 1-0.

Across the entire 23-match season, MIT has allowed only seven goals to its opponents, while scoring 72 of its own, led by goal-scorers Claire Zhang and Arianna Doss, who had 14 goals and 12 goals, respectively. Between the pipes, Maddy Noll played 20 matches, making 19 starts, allowing five goals in 1,485 minutes, going 16-1-1 overall with 10 shutouts and six combined shutouts. The junior made 40 saves with a 0.30 goals-against average and an .889 save percentage. 

As for the Warriors, they have been led by first-year forward Emily McKelvey offensively, scoring 16 goals and adding three assists for 35 points and six game-winning goals. McKelvey has continued to rewrite the record books along with sophomore forward Michaela Gasparri, who had seven goals and 11 assists for 25 points overall. Junior goalkeeper Alex Ignatowicz has had another stellar year for Eastern in net, going 12-1-2 overall with a 0.44 goals-against average after making 44 saves with an .880 save percentage, five shutouts, and one combined shutout across 1236:49 minutes. 

Eastern captured its first Little East Conference Championship since 2011, defeating UMass Boston, 3-1, at home over the weekend. It was the first time since 2005 that the Warriors captured the title at home, while marking the fifth time overall they have won the conference. This weekend will be the seventh time in program history that Eastern has made the NCAA Tournament. 

The first-ever matchup between MIT and Eastern will take place on Saturday in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament at 11:00 AM in Cambridge, Massachusetts.