ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's soccer team found out its destination for the upcoming NCAA Tournament on Monday with the NCAA Selection Show. One of 48 teams to hear their name called, the Midshipmen (4-4-2) will open action on Tuesday night, April 27 versus the University of New Mexico (10-1) in Wilson, North Carolina. Kickoff between the champions of the Patriot League and champions of the Mountain West Conference is set for 6 p.m. at the Gillette Soccer Complex.

Due to the unique circumstances of this 2020-21 season, the NCAA Tournament will only have 48 teams competing with 16 national seeds earning a bye into the second round of the championship. The victor of the Navy-New Mexico contest will advance to play the fourth-seeded TCU Horned Frogs three days later on Friday, April 30 in Wilson. The entire NCAA Tournament will be held in the state of North Carolina. 

Navy and New Mexico have never met in a women's soccer competition prior to this announcement. The Midshipmen have had limited interactions with schools in the Mountain West Conference as they're 7-3 all-time with a 4-2 mark versus Air Force, a 2-0 mark against Boise State and a 1-1 record versus San Diego State. The most recent, Navy-Mountain West game was on Sept. 21, 2012 when the Mids defeated the Broncos, 2-1 in Annapolis.

Navy earned their way into the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament field via the Patriot League's automatic qualifying bid. Seeded first in the Patriot League's South Division, the Mids went 3-1-1 in spring regular season Patriot League-only games before knocking off the South's second seed, Loyola by a score of 1-0 in the Patriot League Tournament Semifinals on Wednesday. In the Patriot League Finals on Saturday at Colgate University, the Mids and Raiders tied 1-1, though Navy was able to earn the berth in the the NCAA Tournament with a 4-1 showing in penalty kicks.

New Mexico garnered the automatic bid from the Mountain West after posting a 10-1 record and clinching the conference's regular season title. The Lobos defeated the San Diego State Aztecs for the regular season crown on Sunday as they came away with a 3-2 overtime victory.

In the Mids' history in the NCAA Tournament, the team is 0-4-1 and has advanced once to the second round of the tournament in 2006 when they went to penalty kicks versus William & Mary on Nov. 10, 2006. After 110 minutes of scoreless soccer, the Mids outscored the Tribe, 5-4 in the best-of-five shootout. Last season, the Mids travelled to Raleigh, N.C. and were felled by the host North Carolina State Wolfpack, 3-0.

    Navy in the NCAA Tournament
    Nov. 15, 2019 at North Carolina State (1st Rnd): N.C. State 3 - Navy 0
    Nov. 16, 2007 at No. 12 West Virginia (1st Rnd): WVU 4 - Navy 0
    Nov. 12, 2006 at No. 1 North Carolina (2nd Rnd): UNC 4 - Navy 0 
    Nov. 10, 2006 vs. William & Mary in Chapel Hill (1st Rnd): Navy 0 - W&M 0 (Navy advances 5-4 on PKs)
    Nov. 14, 2003 at No. 5 Penn State (1st Rnd): PSU 5 - Navy 1