BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The eight-team SWAC women’s soccer championship field has been set with Jackson State (SWAC East) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (SWAC West) earning No. 1 seeds.
Mississippi Valley State and Texas Southern earned No. 2 seeds, while Alabama State and Prairie View A&M earned No. 3 seeds. Alabama A&M and Southern round out the field with No. 4 seeds.
The top four teams in each division, seeded by conference record, qualify for the league championship.
Three teams in the Eastern Division (Mississippi Valley State, Alabama State, Alabama A&M) finished with a 2-2 mark in conference play. Mississippi Valley State earned the No. 2 seed under the SWAC tie-breaker format while Alabama State and Alabama A&M followed with No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively. The tournament begins on Nov. 5, with the title game taking place on Nov. 8.
Jackson State (10-6-1, 4-0-0 SWAC East) won the league’s Eastern Division for the fourth straight year and secured the No. 1 seed. The Lady Tigers will play the No. 4 seed from the west, Southern, on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. Southern enters the tournament with a 1-14-1 (1-3-0 SWAC West) mark.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (12-5-0, 4-0-0 SWAC West) won the league’s Western Division and secured the No. 1 seed. The defending 2009 Tournament Champions will play No. 4 Alabama A&M on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 10:30 a.m. Alabama A&M enters the tournament with a 6-12-0 (2-2-0 SWAC East) record.
The 2/3 contest has Eastern Division No. 2 seed Mississippi Valley State (5-12-0, 2-2-0 SWAC East) taking on Western Division No. 3 seed Prairie View A&M (6-12-1, 2-2-0 SWAC West). The game will take place on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 3:30 p.m. When the two teams met earlier this year, the Panthers took a 3-2 victory on the road on Oct. 17.
The other 2/3 matchup pits No. 2 Texas Southern (7-12-0, 3-1-0 SWAC West) against No. 3 Alabama State (5-11-0, 2-2-0 SWAC East) on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 6:00 p.m. The two teams matched up on Oct. 3, with the Tigers coming out on top with a 4-2 win.
The University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff Soccer Complex in Pine Bluff, Ark. will serve as host for the tournament. The champion receives the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship.
SWAC East SWAC West
1. Jackson State* 1. Arkansas-Pine Bluff*
2. Mississippi Valley State* 2. Texas Southern*
3. Alabama State* 3. Prairie View A&M*
4. Alabama A&M* 4. Southern*
5. Alcorn State 5. Grambling State
[*] clinched tournament berth [&] regular season champion
