VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – For Mississippi University for Women Head Men's Soccer Coach Louis Alexander, the plan is to make the absolute most out of his team's trip to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Division I Championships. The six-team event begins Thursday (Nov. 11), with the No. 6-seeded Owls taking on No. 2-seed Bryant and Stratton College-Syracuse in a pool play match at 1:15 p.m. Eastern Time.
 
The W will also have a pool play contest on Saturday (Nov. 13/12:15 p.m. (ET) versus Paul Quinn College. The winners of each pool meet on Sunday (Nov. 14) to vie for the USCAA Division I Men's Soccer title at 5:30 p.m. (ET).
 
"We are extremely excited about getting to play in this national tournament," Alexander said. "It's a great experience for not just our program, but our athletic department as a whole. Obviously we want to win games, but we have opportunities to do and see things that, normally in life, these guys wouldn't get to experience. Like seeing the Atlantic Ocean. Or all the trappings that go along with a national tournament. It might seem small to some, but this will be a first for some of these guys. For our seniors, it also means they have at least two more games. We will soak up everything on this trip. Of course, our goal is to bring a national championship back to The W."
 
"That would just make the entire trip that much more special."
 
This will be the Owls' second trip to the USCAA championships in the five-year history of the program (including 2020, when COVID shut down its season after four matches). The W also reached the Virginia Beach event in 2019. In that trip, MUW tied The University of Maine-Ft. Kent, 1-1, and lost to Florida National, 4-1, in its pool play games, failing to advance to the championship game.
 
"We have a tough test right out of the gate in number two-seed Bryant and Stratton-Syracuse," Alexander pointed out. "Not knowing much about this team will serve as a challenge. But with that being said, they don't know much about us, either. If we can play disciplined, defensively and capitalize on our chances that we create, we can play with anybody. We've shown that throughout the year. Obviously, how we are able to make adjustments on things we see during the game will be key."