MANCHESTER, N.H. – For the first time in program history, the Saint Anselm College women's soccer team was selected to participate in the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship. The Hawks (10-6-1), seeded fourth in the seven-team East Regional, will take on No. 5-ranked Jefferson (12-5-1) in a First Round matchup scheduled for either Thursday, Nov. 18 or Friday, Nov. 19.

Other teams in the East Region bracket include top-seeded Saint Rose (15-1-3), No. 2-seeded Molloy (17-2-0), No. 3-seeded Southern New Hampshire (13-3-1), No. 6-seeded Mercy (N.Y.) (10-4-4) and No. 7-seeded Bridgeport (11-6-1).

The opening round game against Jefferson will be played at the Plumeri Sports Complex in Albany, N.Y. on a date yet to be finalized. The winner will go on to face the top-seeded hosts from Saint Rose on Saturday, Nov. 20 or Sunday, Nov. 21. The NCAA Division II National Championship game will be conducted on Saturday, Dec. 11 at Weidner Field, a soccer-specific stadium located in downtown Colorado Springs, Colo. that opened this past April.

Saint Anselm recently notched its first Northeast-10 Conference postseason win, downing Bentley in the league's quarterfinal round by a 1-0 margin. The victory was the first in the playoffs for Saint Anselm since 2006 against UMass Lowell. The Hawks bowed out of the NE10 postseason with a loss to Saint Rose in the NE10 Semifinals on Thursday.

The Hawks, winners of at least 10 games for just the eighth season in program history, entered the selection show as the No. 4-ranked team in the East Region, according to the most recent set of official NCAA rankings. Saint Anselm owns a 10-6-1 overall record after logging a 7-5-1 mark against NE10 opponents during the regular season.

Jefferson owns a 12-5-1 overall record and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA postseason by virtue of a 2-0 victory over Wilmington (Del.) in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference championship game on Sunday. The Rams have won three consecutive CACC postseason titles and will make their fourth NCAA playoffs appearance, doing so against Saint Anselm.

Saint Anselm began its historic season with a 5-1-1 record, aided by one of the longest shutout streaks in program history at 448:37 minutes. Saint Anselm recorded seven shutouts on the season and played to five overtime matches, claiming a win or a tie in four of those fixtures. The 10 victories on the year are the most in a campaign since winning as many in 2006.

Junior Kathryn White (Georgetown, Mass.) joined sophomores Delaney Glode (Kennebunkport, Maine) and Olivia Gotobed (North Andover, Mass.) on the NE10's Second Team All-Conference. Senior Regan Pratt (Newburyport, Mass.) was named to the Third Team All-Conference and both Glode and Gotobed earned placement on the league's All-Rookie Team following the season.