Lebanon, Tenn - - Cumberland women's soccer are at the final site of the NAIA National Championship in Foley, Alabama, where tomorrow they will play their round of 16 opponents, Hope International University.

The Phoenix's final site bid did not come without a challenge as their second round opponents, St. Thomas, put them to the test. The Bobcats played a high press and kept Cumberland in their half for much of the game, being one of the only teams all season to successfully possess the ball against CU.

Brenna Swiger led the charge for Cumberland, having a standout performance against one of the nations best defensive teams. She managed nine total shots, putting four of those on target, and two of them in the back of the net.

Offense was not the full story of the game though, as Sabrina Graziano also put on a magnificent showing in net, showing off her cat-like reflexes time after time. Graziano faced 16 shots over the course of the game and allowed just one to get past her, one of her best showings of the season.

Hope International advances to Foley just like the Phoenix, though they had to play two games to make it through. Their road to the tournament had to go through two Indiana-based universities, first playing IU Kokomo and then taking on the No. 6 seed and region hosts, Indiana Wesleyan.

HIU took down Kokomo with relative ease in the first round, winning 4-0, setting themselves up for a matchup with Indiana Wesleyan. Their second round matchup looked very similar to CU's, going back and forth with their opponents but being lifted by a goal in both halves from their star player, Christiane Sundstrom.

Sundstrom was the GSAC Player of the Year in her first year with the program. She transferred from Utah State and helped push the Royals to a regular season co-championship and then followed that up with a GSAC Tournament Championship as well.

The graduate transfer led the GSAC and finished top ten in the NAIA with 18 goals and six assists for 42 regular season points. Hope International do not rely on her alone though, as the Royals have two more players who are one goal away from double-digits.

Having a blistering postseason up to this point, All-GSAC member Ashlyn Edwards finished her regular season with six goals but has scored three more in her two tournament games so far, taking her tally to nine. Ryley Candelario has also been a key part of the Royals attack, matching Edward's nine goals and five assists to a tee and also earning All-GSAC honors.

Hope International is not all flash though, as they had three players in the defensive third of the field elected to the All-GSAC team as well. Monique Cervantes and Jaylene Valentin both played in front of all conference keeper Haley Slouka, as their unit allowed just 26 goals through 21 games up to this point.

Cumberland comes into the matchup with a record of 16-1-3, including three straight ranked victories, while HIU matches the Phoenix for wins, sitting at 16-3-2. Credit has to be given to the Royals for knocking off the No. 6 seed Wildcats, giving them two ranked victories in their last three games.

These two teams would not normally share an opponent in a typical school year, as Hope International is located on the West Coast and Cumberland is roughly 2000 miles east of Fullerton, California. This year though, the Phoenix hosted the College of Idaho who played the Royals just a week after their contest in Lebanon.

Cumberland drew 2-2 with the Yotes in a back and forth battle in which Mari Sagstad saved the Phoenix with an 85th minute goal, while the Royals dropped their matchup with Idaho, falling 4-2.

The game will kick off tomorrow at 7:00 PM CST at the Foley Sports Tourism Championship Stadium. Tickets are available for purchase at the event and will be available for either $15 dollars per day, or $35 dollars for a Tournament Pass. The live stream can be purchased for $9.95 online, but the live stats will not cost anything to view.