INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. ? After winning its second straight Colonial Athletic Association championship, the Tiger women's lacrosse team will face third-seeded North Carolina in the first round of the 2009 NCAA® Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship on Sunday, May 10 at Fetzer Field, it has been announced by NCAA officials.

The game time and ticket information will be announced on Monday afternoon.

Now 13-5 on the season, the Tigers will be making their third NCAA Tournament appearance in the last five years. The Tigers lost at fifth-seeded Georgetown by 15-14 in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament before dropping a 21-9 verdict against fifth-seeded Syracuse in the first round last season.

“I am really excited to be playing the Tar Heels,” Towson Coach Missy Doherty said. “I was really hoping that we would be playing a team that we didn't face in the regular season because there is a lot of excitement when you are playing someone you have not played.

“North Carolina is a great team,” Doherty added. “The ACC is a very competitive conference. We are going to have play our best against the Tar Heels.”

The Tigers, who have won seven straight games, became the first team in CAA history to win the conference championship as the number four seed after defeating Delaware by an 8-7 margin on Saturday afternoon at Albert-Daly Field. Senior attacker Meggie McNamara has led the Tigers this season by scoring 34 goals with 42 assists, which set a Towson single-season record.

Meanwhile, junior midfielder Nikki Marcinik leads the CAA with 48 goals and has also added 20 assists. Freshman goalkeeper Mary Teeters has started 17 of 18 games for the Tigers this season, stopping 50.9 per cent of the shots she has faced while allowing 9.41 goals per game.

One of four Atlantic Coast Conference teams to earn an NCAA Tournament berth, the Tar Heels bring a 13-4 record into the first round meeting against the Tigers. The Tar Heels, who have appeared in 11 NCAA Tournaments, earned a berth into the 16-team field for the fifth straight year. North Carolina has also reached the NCAA quarter-finals in each of the last four years.

The Tar Heels, who will be playing their first game since April 24, are led by junior midfielder Megan Bosica, who has scored 28 goals with 19 assists this season. Meanwhile, junior midfielders Kristen Taylor and Jenn Russell lead North Carolina with 32 goals while sophomore attacker Corey Donohoe has added 28 goals.

Junior goalkeeper Logan Ripley has recorded a 9.03 goals against average while stopping 47.0 per cent of the shots she has faced.  

North Carolina Coach Jenny Levy is in her 13th season at North Carolina and enters the NCAA Tournament with a 161-71 career record. She has led the Tar Heels to ten NCAA Tournaments and three semi-final appearances.

The winner of the Towson-North Carolina game will face the winner of the Vanderbilt-Notre Dame in the quarter-finals on Sunday, May 17.