AMHERST, Mass. -- The Amherst College women's soccer team has earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championship tournament and has been selected as one of 16 hosts for the first two rounds of the tournament this weekend at Hitchcock Field. The Mammoths (14-1-2) will open their tournament run against NECC champion Lesley University (14-3-1) in the round of 64 on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 11 a.m.

Johns Hopkins University (14-1-2) and CCC champion Gordon College (15-3-1) will face off in another first-round game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. with the winners meeting in the round of 32 on Sunday at 1 p.m. The winner of that match will advance to the sectionals on the weekend of November 19-21 on the road to the national championship on Saturday, Dec. 4, in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Amherst is appearing in its third straight NCAA Tournament and ninth in the last 10 seasons. This will be the 19th overall tournament appearance for the Purple & White since NESCAC institutions began participating in NCAA team championships in 1993.

The first-round matchup between Amherst and Lesley is a rematch of the 2018 tournament opener when the Mammoths beat the Lynx, 3-0. Ruby Hastie '22 and Natalie Landau '22, then first-years and now seniors, each scored for Amherst in that game. Led by head coach Jen Hughes, who celebrated her 200th career win earlier this season, the Mammoths enter the tournament unbeaten in their last 13 games after finishing the regular season in a tie atop the NESCAC standings.