NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- With their fate in the hands of the NCAA National Selection Committee, the Christopher Newport women's soccer team learned it was named as one of the 21 at-large selections to the 2013 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship. The Captains will play Bowdoin College (11-3-1) in the first round, on the campus of top-ranked Montclair State (18-0-1) this Saturday, November 16 at 7:30 pm.

The host Red Hawks will take on Colby-Sawyer in their first round matchup of the four-team pod. The two winning teams will advance to the second round to play on Sunday, November 17. Both the first game and the NCAA Second Round game are set for 5:00 pm

Christopher Newport (14-3-2), under the direction of first-year head coach Dan Weiler, will make their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and their first since 2010. In their first year in the Capital Athletic Conference, the Captains were regular season champions and reached the conference title game against York College (Pa.). The Spartans would win in a penalty kick shootout, and would secure the league's automatic berth. 

CNU has been led by a pair of dynamic senior scorers, as all-time leading scorer Emma O'Reilly and Bupe Okeowo have combined for 56 points, including the first 30-point campaign from Okeowo. She has led the team in the second half of the season, scoring at least one point in nine straight games. She has scored eight of the last ten goals that the Captains have put in the back of the net. O'Reilly broke the all-time record for goals scored and points in a career earlier this year, and became the first Captain in women's soccer history to reach the 100-point plateau.

CNU will face off against an unfamiliar foe in the Bowdoin Polar Bears. The NESCAC team picked up an at-large berth after being eliminated in the conference tournament quarterfinals, to Tufts. Bowdoin is one of five NESCAC teams to earn a berth in this year's tournament, and tt will be the first time the Captains and Polar Bears have played.

Bowdoin is averaging 2.3 goals per game this season, led by sophomore forward Kiersten Turner. Turner has scored 11 goals, adding four assists for a team-best 26 points in 2013. Jamie Hofstetter and Molly Popolizio are also in double figures for the Polar Bears this year. 

Links to live stats for the weekend tilt will be available at CNUsports.com.