LANCASTER, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Soccer will open the program's seventh appearance in the NCAA Division III National Tournament with a match against the Capital Athletic Conference Champion University of Mary Washington Eagles at Franklin and Marshall College on Saturday at 7:30 pm. The winner of that contest will play the winner of the No. 17 hosts and Western Connecticut.

Eastern is in the dance for the third time in the past four years. It is the first time at the helm for Head Coach Jeremy Payne who was an assistant for the Eagles in 2015 and 2016. Payne, however, is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament. The second-year head coach played in four NCAA Tournaments and won a pair of National Championships while playing for Messiah. Payne scored goals in both National Championship matches.

This is the first meeting between Eastern and Mary Washington (14-1-4).

The Eastern Eagles (17-2-1) reached this year's tournament with a 3-0 home win over King's College in the MAC Freedom Championship Match. The team is unbeaten in the last sixteen matches and has won 12 in-a-row. Jacob Myers and Cade Harmon both scored goals in each of the Eagle's MAC Freedom Tournament matches.

The Mary Washington Eagles reached the NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 win over St. Mary's in the CAC Final. Mary Washington reached the finals of the CAC Tournament with a penalty kick shootout win over Frostburg State. Neither team scored a goal in that match.

For the year, Myers leads the Eagles with nine goals. Nine different Eastern players have multiple goals this fall. Anthony Hitchcock is unbeaten in 14 starts in goal for the Eagles.

Justin Carey leads the Mary Washington Eagles with eight goals. Fellow senior Ryan Van Maanen has seven goals. Mary Washington has outscored opponents 53-7 this fall. Eighteen of those goals came is a pair of late-season wins over Southern Virginia. Ken Kurtz has 68 stops in 19 starts in goal.

Eastern beat York 1-0 to start the season. The Spartans tied Mary Washington in late September. The two teams do not have any other common opponents.

Including their 2-0 win over Rochester in 2016, Eastern has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament twice. Mary Washington is in the Tournament for the 11th time. Last fall, the Eagles fell in the first round in their first appearance since 2001. They reached the second round in 2001 and were National semifinalists in 1997. They hosted the Championships that year and fell 2-1 in the semifinals to the eventual champions.

Fans who cannot make the trip to Lancaster can follow online with a livestream or livestats provided by Franklin and Marshall.