LOWELL, MA (Nov. 1, 2007) – UMass Lowell received the No. 3 seed and will face Southern Connecticut State University in the NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Tournament Thursday, hosted by Franklin Pierce University.

The invitation marks the third-ever appearance in the NCAAs for the River Hawks, who also advanced in 2003 and 2004.

Franklin Pierce (13-2-3), the Northeast-10 Conference regular season champion, was named the No. 1 seed and host while Southern Connecticut (14-2-4), the NE-10 Tournament champion, was named the No. 2 seed. Le Moyne (14-3-2) was given the No. 4 seed.

The River Hawks and Owls meet Thursday, Nov. 8 at 4:00 at Sodexho Field while Franklin Pierce and Le Moyne battle at 7:00. The NCAA regional final is slated for Saturday at 1:00.

UMass Lowell is currently 12-3-3 overall and capped the NE-10 season with a 10-2-1 clip, good for second place.

During the regular season, UML defeated the Owls, 1-0, in New Haven, CT, but the Owls exacted revenge last Wednesday in the NE-10 Tournament semifinal, 1-0, in Lowell. SCSU leads the all-time series, 25-5-2 and has a 5-4-1 edge in the last 10 meetings.

The River Hawks also defeated Le Moyne, 4-1, during the regular season and lead the all-time series 9-4-1, winning nine of the last 10 meetings.

UML suffered a 1-0 loss at Franklin Pierce on Sept. 8. The Ravens lead the all-time series 18-3-4 overall and 3-0-3 in the last six meetings.

The River Hawks made the most of their first showing in the NCAA Tournament in 2003, when they won the New England Region before losing to Dowling College (2-0) in the quarterfinal. Along the way, UML won the NE-10 Tournament championship and went on to defeat Franklin Pierce (3-0) in the first round and host Southern Connecticut (1-0) in the regional final.

UML repeated as the NE-10 Tournament champion in 2004, but suffered a 3-0 loss to Franklin Pierce in the first round.