The nationally ninth-ranked Cortland men's soccer team will face Augsburg in the third round of the NCAA Division III tournament on Saturday at 12 p.m. in St. Louis, Mo., as part of a four-team NCAA sectional hosted by Washington University. Saturday's other third-round game at the sectional site features host WashU against Trinity (Texas) at 2:30 p.m. The winners will play Sunday at 2 p.m. in the "Elite 8" on WashU's Francis Olympic Field, with that winner advancing to the NCAA semifinals and finals Dec. 5 and 7 in Salem, Va.

Cortland enters the week with a 14-1-5 record after a 2-1 home victory over Catholic in the second round of the NCAA playoffs on Sunday evening. After falling behind early in the second half, freshman forward Owen Brant (Loudonville/Shaker) headed home the equalizer on a set piece in the 52nd minute, assisted by Dylan Pederson (Earlswood, England/Reigate) and Alberto Reyes (New Canaan, CT). Senior forward Josh Carroll (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue) netted the game-winning goal with 2:40 remaining in regulation to send Cortland to the victory. Cortland also earned a 1-0 victory over Delhi in the opening round on Saturday after Sam LaMendola (Buffalo/Williamsville South) netted the winner in the 102nd minute.
 
The Red Dragons advanced to the "Sweet 16" for the fourth time in the past five seasons, and for the seventh time in 13 years under head coach Steve Axtell. Overall, Cortland has nine top-5 national finishes, including a second-place showing in 1977, a third-place finish in 1978, and a tie for third in 1982. 
 
Augsburg enters the week with an 18-2-2 overall record and ranked second nationally. The Auggies earned an at-large berth into the national tournament after falling in the quarterfinals of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) tournament. Augsburg hosted a regional on the opening weekend of the national tournament, defeating Occidental, 3-1 in the first round, and Edgewood, 1-0 in the second round.
 
Saturday's matchup will be the first meeting all-time between the Cortland and Augsburg men's soccer teams. It's also believed to be the first time that Cortland and Augsburg will face off in any team sport, although individual competitors from the sides in sports such as wrestling have squared off before.  
 
WashU earned an automatic qualifier into the national tournament as champions of the University Athletic Association (UAA) during the regular season (the UAA does not conduct a conference tournament for soccer and grants its automatic qualifier to the regular-season champion). The Bears sport a 14-3-1 record, and enter the week ranked 12th nationally. WashU advanced on penalty kicks after a scoreless tie against Wisconsin-Whitewater in the first round, and defeated UChicago by a 1-0 scoreline in the second round, in a regional hosted by Wisconsin-Whitewater. 
 
Trinity is ranked fifth nationally and will head to St. Louis with a 17-1-1 record. The Tigers were the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) champions during the regular season, but earned an at-large berth into the national tournament after bowing out on penalty kicks to Berry in the semifinals of the SAA conference tournament. Trinity hosted a regional on the opening weekend of the national tournament, defeating Hardin-Simmons, 5-0 in the first round, and Texas Lutheran, 2-0 in the second round, to advance to Saturday's third round.