Women's Soccer 11/18/2024 6:30:00 PM Chris Brannick

Central Oklahoma Headed Back To National Tournament

UCO Clinches Spot In NCAA Division II Soccer Championship For 16th Time

INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Central Oklahoma is heading back to the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship, it was announced Monday.

UCO will be the No. 4 seed in the Central Regional and is set to play No. 5 Washburn Friday at 12 p.m. in Warrensburg, Missouri.

"I'm happy for the team," first-year head women's soccer coach Amel Muhamedagic said. "They've worked so hard from the moment they got to campus in August. We played three non-conference games against teams that made the national tournament and three of our MIAA opponents made it too. We've been tested and to get this chance shows them they're worthy of this opportunity because of the work they've done.

"Now everyone starts over," Muhamedagic continued. "We've got to play our best in every game moving forward. You have to play like it's your last because it could be. I know they're excited and ready for the challenge."

Top seed Central Missouri is hosting half of the regional tournament and will take on No. 8 Ouachita Baptist. On the other side, No. 2 Minnesota State will host No. 7 St. Cloud State, and No. 3 Missouri Western and No. 6 Concordia St. Paul will meet in Mankato, Minnesota on MSU's campus.

Central Oklahoma and Washburn met in the regular season in Topeka, Kansas and the two schools played to a scoreless draw. The Bronchos and the Ichabods met again in the MIAA Women's Soccer Championship last week in Wichita, Kansas and UCO came away with a 1-0 victory, knocking the regular season champion out of the postseason tournament.

UCO posted a 12-6-3 record this season, earning the No. 4 seed in the MIAA Women's Soccer Championship. UCO made an appearance in the final of the league's eight-team postseason tournament after beating Northeastern State and Washburn in the first two rounds.

UCO has qualified now for 16 national tournaments. The Bronchos return this year after a two-year absence. Since starting the program in 1998, UCO has only missed nationals in consecutive seasons twice (1998-99 and 2022-23).

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