The University of Kentucky men’s soccer team will travel to Clemson, S.C., to take on Mercer in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 23. The winner of the UK-MU matchup will face No. 5-seed Clemson in the second round on Sunday, Nov. 25. Game time is set for 7 p.m. on Friday.

“We are very excited about the draw,” Coach Ian Collins said. “It really didn’t matter to us where we play or who we play against. We are just happy to still be playing. Mercer will be a tough match for us, but we look forward to the challenge and a good result.”

Mercer (13-7-0) gained entry into the tournament by virtue of claiming the Atlantic Sun Tournament title and automatic berth.

Kentucky (13-5-1) received its bid by winning the Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship over Akron. The Zips received an at-large bid to give the MAC two teams in NCAA play and will face South Florida in the opening round.

“This is very satisfying,” senior Chris McAlpine said. “When I started here, UK had never won the MAC championship or made the NCAA Tournament. Now we’ve made it three straight and we have a legitimate shot of making it to Columbus, Ohio (for the College Cup).”

Also, Ilkka Jantti was named to the College Soccer News’ Team of the Week, which selects 11 players from around the nation. The senior was recognized for his play against Akron in the MAC Championship game, which UK won, 1-0. Jantti scored the game-winner in the 114th minute off a corner kick from sophomore Nathan Fleetwood. The honor is Jantti’s second of the season after earning his first on Sept. 10 for his play against Ohio State and UNC Asheville.