MVNU (14-7-1), which is the No. 4 seed in the eight-tournament, earned its berth into the NCCAA National Tournament with a pair of shutout victories in the NCCAA East Region Tournament. Sophomore forward Jessica Estep leads the Lady Cougars with 19 goals and nine assists on the season, while senior midfielder Page Miller has added eight goals and two assists. Senior midfielder Erin Miller and junior defender Mara Hughes have also both scored five goals, and freshman midfielder Courtney Ricker has added four goals and six assists. Meanwhile, sophomore goalkeeper Jenessa Loewen has registered eight shutouts and a 0.94 goals against average with the team having posted 11 shutouts overall.

"The team and I are really excited about our opportunity to compete at the NCCAA National Tournament,” said MVNU coach Jonathan Meade. "This is a young team and we went over a few speed bumps early on. Now, we have really blossomed as we have moved along through October and November. This team believes they can win it all and they look forward to tackling the competition.”

The Lady Cougars will take on No. 5 seed The Master’s (Calif.) College in the first round. The Mustangs (12-8-0) are the NCCAA West Region champion having defeated Hope International (Calif.) University 1-0 in region event. Robyn Estrada leads The Master’s with eight goals, while Sierra Goff has added seven goals and five assists. Defensively, the Mustangs have posted four shutouts with Maria Loza recording a 1.51 goals against average.

Wednesday’s other first round matchups include No. 2 seed Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) University versus No. 7 seed Southern Wesleyan (S.C.) University at noon, No. 3 seed Trinity International (Ill.) University against No. 6 seed Asbury (Ky.) College at 2:30 p.m., and No. 1 seed Spring Arbor (Mich.) University facing No. seed Colorado Christian University.

"The NCCAA represents so much more than competition and it is a great experience overall even going beyond the competition,” said Meade. "We look forward to the Christian fellowship and outreach opportunities we will have as well.”

On Thursday, the action continues with loser’s bracket matches at noon and 2:30 p.m. with the semifinals to follow at 5:00 and 7:30 p.m. The tournament will conclude on Saturday with four matches culminating with the national championship match at 3:45 p.m.