Nov. 19, 2001

MILWAUKEE - The No. 15 UWM men's soccer (18-4) team will play the University of Missouri-Kansas City (11-6-1) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday at 7 p.m. in St. Louis, Mo. The Panthers received an at-large bid into the tournament and will play at host No. 4 St. Louis (16-1), who receives the first-round bye.

"It's unbelievable, I'm so pleased for everyone involved," UWM coach Louis Bennett said. "I know (UMKC) beat IUPUI in their conference championship, but I don't know too much else about them. We'll have to do our homework."

The Panthers have never faced UMKC, who received the automatic bid after winning the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament with a 2-1 win over IUPUI in the championship. The regular-season league champion Milwaukee heads to the tournament after losing in the Horizon League tournament championship game to Butler, 2-0. UWM received the at-large bid with its impressive record on the season.

St. Louis receives the sixth seed in the tournament and hosts the first and second round games. The Billikens beat Marquette, 2-0, in the C-USA tournament championship, and will play the UWM-UMKC winner on Sunday at 1 p.m.

"It's exciting to play there," Bennett said of St. Louis's Hermann Stadium. "It's custom fit to soccer, and St. Louis has a rich history in soccer, just like Milwaukee. Apart from being at Engelmann, I couldn't have asked for a better place to play."