The Hofstra University women will meet Auburn University in the first round of the NCAA Division I Tournament at the Auburn Soccer Complex Friday at 6 p.m.

The Pride (15-3-2, 9-0 CAA) earned an automatic bid to the tournament after dethroning defending Colonial Athletic Association champion Northeastern University, 2-1, in Sunday’s title game to complete a clean sweep of the conference. The victory extended Hofstra’s winning streak to 12 games and allowed the Pride to become the second team in CAA history to go unbeaten and untied in conference play and go on to win the conference championship.

Senior Kristin Desmond was named the tournament MVP, becoming the third player in CAA history – and first since 1999 – to be named CAA player of the year and tournament MVP.

Freshman Lucy Porter opened the scoring 84 seconds into the final, marking her second goal of the tournament after netting the game-winner in the semifinal against William & Mary College. After Northeastern had knotted the score at one, junior Jenn Buoncore decided the game in the 32nd minute with a header off a Monique Iannella free kick.

Auburn (7-6-5, 4-2-4 SEC) earned an at-large bid to the tournament after being eliminated from the SEC tournament with a 1-0 quarterfinal loss to Florida. The Tigers took a 1-0 win over the Gators in the regular season, also picking up conference wins over Alabama, Kentucky and eventual champion Texas A&M.

Seniors Kristen Dodson and Caroline Bado were named first-team All-SEC, while Alyssa Malonson earned All-Freshman team. Dodson leads the team with eight goals and 19 points. In net, Sarah Le Beau has played every minute for the Tigers, posting a .741 save percentage and 1.14 goals-against average.

This will be the first meeting between Hofstra and Auburn. The winner of this first-round matchup will advance to take on No. 1 Stanford in California.

The game will be broadcast live on SEC Network+ and will be available via live stats. Links to game coverage can be found on the Hofstra women’s soccer schedule page.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.