KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Opening Round Schedule | Watch Video Announcement Live| Full Bracket] The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics has officially announced the teams and Opening Round pairings for the 2019 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship. The 46-team event will begin with 15 National Championship Opening Round presented by Select Soccer matches at campus sites on Nov. 22-23. Westmont (Calif.) is the 46^th team in the field and receives an NAIA Opening Round bye due to earning the host berth of the NAIA National Championship Final Site in Irvine, Calif.

Dalton State (Ga.) and Embry Riddle (Ariz.) will battle it out on Friday, November 22^nd at 5 p.m. at R. Marvin Owens Field for the chance to take on the second seeded Cougars on Saturday, November 23^rd at 5 p.m.

The 15 NAIA Opening Round presented by Select Soccer winners will join Westmont (Calif.) in Irvine for NAIA National Championship Final Site play, beginning on December 2^nd. The 16-team single-elimination event runs from Dec. 2 - 7 at the Orange Country Great Park Soccer Stadium.

The 2019 Opening Round field includes 27 automatic qualifiers, 18 at-large selections and the one host berth. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title, regular-season championship or finished runner-up during the regular season or at the conference tournament; the number of automatic qualifiers differ conference-to-conference based on conference size and postseason-eligible teams.

The at-large bids were determined by the Soccer National Selection Committee. For more information on the National Selection Committee, see Appendix B of the Soccer Coaches Manual.

The Cougars, who solidified an automatic bid to the 2019 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Opening Round after claiming the AMC Regular-Season and Tournament titles, come into the opening round with a perfect 20-0-0 record on the season. The Cougars rank No. 1 in shutouts per game and total shutouts. Ryan Harrisskitt also ranks No. 1 in average goals against per game at 0.35.

The NAIA Network – the association's official video-streaming home – will broadcast all matches live at the 2019 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship final site in Irvine, Calif. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, allows users access to live video, statistics and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single-day passes can be purchased for $9.95; an all-tournament package is available for $29.95.