By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University women's soccer team is heading to the NCAA tournament for the second straight season following the release of the Division II Women's Championship bracket on Monday evening.
The Ichabods earned the No. 5 seed in the Central Region and will face No. 4 seed Central Oklahoma at 12 p.m. Friday in Warrensburg, Mo.
Washburn looks to continue a campaign that includes an MIAA regular-season championship and a 14-4-2 record.
The Ichabods will meet Central Oklahoma for the third time this season and for the second straight game after WU dropped a 1-0 decision to the Bronchos in last week's MIAA Tournament semifinal at Wichita. The Bronchos (12-6-3) fell to Central Missouri 1-0 in the MIAA tournament final.
Washburn returns to the NCAA tournament after a run to the national championship game last season, which resulted in a 1-0 loss to Point Loma in Matthews, NC.
Central Missouri will host the first two rounds of postseason after earning the No. 1 seed following the Jennies' victory in the MIAA tournament championship.
The Jennies, who are 15-4-2, will face No. 8 seed Ouachita Baptist (8-7-4) in the first round.
On the other side of the Central Region bracket, Minnesota State will host the first two rounds as the No. 2 seed.
The Mavericks will face St. Cloud State in the first round while MIAA member Missouri Western makes the trip to battle Concordia-St.Paul.
The NCAA tournament concludes with the national championship game on Sunday, Dec. 15.
