LIVONIA, Mich.– The Madonna University Crusaders women's soccer team are prepped and ready to compete in their first National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Opening Round tournament match since 2005 when they take the field Thursday April 15. The Crusaders will take on Martin Methodist with a kickoff set for 3PM. 

SERIES HISTORY

• This is the first ever meeting between the Crusaders and the Redhawks. 

ABOUT MADONNA

• The Crusaders are making their third-ever appearance in the NAIA Tournament. All-time Madonna has a 1-2-1 record in the tournament with their best finish coming in 2000 when the team made it to the semifinal round. 
• Madonna is coming into the tournament with a 9-4 record and finished the conference season at 6-3, and won the conference tournament with a win over Aquinas 2-1. 
• The Blue and Gold are statistically led by Abby Werthman, Nicolette Vuttaggio and Megan Verant who have scored 13, 12, and 10 points respectively on the season. Alex Thomas has started in goal for 10 of the Crusaders 13 games and has allowed 1.18 goals per game and has tallied 29 saves on the season.

ABOUT MARTIN METHODIST

• The Redhawks are making their 17th appearance in the NAIA tournament and have an all-time record of 23-10-6 and have previously won two national championships. 
• Martin Methodist currently has an overall record of 16-0 and finished their Mid-South Conference season at 9-0. The Redhawks come into the tournament as the fourth overall seed.
• Leading the Redhawks statistically are Adisa Amang, Yuki Watari, and Estelle Badoedana Ekada who have 21, 19 and 13 goals respectively. Suzuho Yamasaki also tacks on 15 assists on the season. In goal for Martin Methodist Gabby Kennedy has allowed .5 goals per contest and has added 35 saves on the season. 
• As a team they rank number one overall in the NAIA in goals per game at 4.88 per game. 

PULASKI BRACKET

• The winner of this match will face off against the winner from the other match between second-seeded Grace College (Ind.) and the third seed Benedictine College (Kan.). That match will take place following the Crusaders game and will have a 6PM kickoff.
• Winners of the two matches will then meet on Saturday April 17 with that game having a 6 PM kickoff also. Only the winner of the Pulaski bracket will advance to the NAIA Final Site in Foley, Ala. on April 27 - May 3.

CONNECT WITH THE CRUSADERS: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
SUBSCRIBE/DOWNLOAD TEAM SCHEDULES: Download Center
DOWNLOAD THE NEW MOBILE APP: Google Play | iOS