Nov. 7, 2005

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. - Atlantic Coast Conference champion North Carolina was chosen Monday afternoon to host first and second rounds in the 2005 NCAA Women's Soccer Championship as seedings and sites were announced by the NCAA Women's Soccer Committee.

Coach Anson Dorrance's Tar Heels will host a first round game at Fetzer Field on the UNC campus at 5 p.m. Friday against Western Carolina. The second of the first round games Friday will match Virginia Commonwealth and Clemson and it is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start time.

The winners of the first round matches on Friday will then meet in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Fetzer Field. In a new seeding arrangement, the NCAA placed four seeded teams in each quadrant of the bracket rather than designating overall one through 16 seeds. Each quadrant includes 16 teams overall and one of those teams in each quadrant will advance to the NCAA Women's College Cup at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas December 2 and 4. UNC is the No. 1 seed in the lower right quadrant of the overall bracket. Other seeds in lower right quadrant are No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 California and No. 4 Pepperdine.

"We feel fortunate to be one of the four No. 1 seeds in the tournament and to be designated as a host school for first and second round games," said UNC head coach Anson Dorrance. "We look forward to playing the Southern Conference champion on Friday and also being able to host Clemson and Virginia Commonwealth at our field."

Tickets can be pruchased in advance at www.TarHeelBlue.com and will also be available at the Fetzer Field gates on game day. They will be $7 for adults, $3 for students and $1 for children.

North Carolina (20-1) and Western Carolina (18-5) both earned their way into the tournament field as conference champions of the Atlantic Coast and Southern Conferences respectively. VCU (12-4-5) and Clemson (9-8-2) were awarded at-large bids.