CHICAGO, ILL. – The St. Catherine University soccer team has already been quite a few places in 2017. On Monday at 12:06 p.m., the Wildcats added a new destination to their schedule. After securing the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, St. Kate's learned it will take on Chicago University in the opening round of the tournament.

This will be the first NCAA Tournament appearance for the Wildcats, who earned the automatic bid after beating Gustavus Adolphus College in the MIAC Championship Saturday afternoon. It was a historical victory in many ways, as it was the first time St. Kate's had won the MIAC Playoff Championship in program history. In the process, the Wildcats also became the first program at St. Kate's to host the championship game and the lowest seed to ever with the MIAC Championship since the conference switched to a six-team tournament in 2014.

As the No. 4 seed in the tournament, the Wildcats will take on tournament host and No. 1 seed Chicago at 11 a.m. on Friday, November 10. If St. Kate's wins Friday, it will take on either the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater or Hope College Saturday afternoon.  

The soccer team is the third St. Kate's program to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in the 2016-17 calendar year. The Wildcat golf team made their first appearance at the NCAA Championship in the spring, while the softball team made their second-consecutive trip to the tournament as well.