NEWBERG, Ore. -- The 2022 NCAA DIII women's lacrosse tournament field is set and the Bruins are heading to Southern California for a matchup against Pomona-Pitzer on May 14.

Fox heads to their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament after defeating Willamette in the inaugural Northwest Conference title game, 20-12. After the game, Bruin head coach Katie Brand said the championship atmosphere brought renewed energy and helped prepare Fox for the NCAA tourney.

It will be the second straight postseason trip to Southern California for the Bruins, who fell to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the first round in 2022. Pomona-Pitzer, who hosted Fox in 2022, enters the 2023 tournament with a 19-1 record, winning the SCIAC Tournament with a 13-12 win over CMS.

This time around, though, Fox will receive a bye to the second round — only two teams will play in the Western pod as opposed to the typical three. A win for the Bruin women will send them to the Sweet Sixteen.

Fox utilized a balanced attack offensively, with five players scoring over 70 points on the season. That balance is good for the hottest offense in the nation: the Bruins enter the tournament as the number one scoring offense in Division III at 19.8 goals per game.

Marena Tharpe was named the NWC Offensive Player of the Year, Ava Bluhm was named NWC Rookie of the Year, and Katie Brand earned her fourth career Coach of the Year honor after guiding the Bruins to an undefeated regular season. As a team, 11 of the Bruins' everyday starters earned first-team, second-team, or honorable mention honors for their play in 2023.

The Sagehens' stats tell a similar story to Fox — Pomona-Pitzer is right behind Fox with the number two scoring offense in the country. Both SCIAC Offensive Player of the Year Sydney Landauer and Defensive Player of the Year Claire LeBlanc lead the charge for the Sagehens with Soshi Henderson totaling 71 assists on the season. 

If the Bruins pull off the victory against the Sagehens, they will likely travel to Ohio to face the winner of Kenyon's pod. The win would be Fox's first NCAA victory in school history.

The game is scheduled for 3:00 pm on Sunday, with live stats and video linked on the Bruins' website. For those that plan to attend in-person, tickets for each game will be $6 for adults, $3 for seniors and visiting students with school IDs, and $2 for children. Ticketing will be accessed via the Bruin lacrosse schedule page when it becomes available.