Both the University of Charleston's men's and women's soccer teams punched their tickets to the NCAA Division II tournament on Monday night.
After winning the Mountain East Conference title for the fourth consecutive season, the Golden Eagles will be the top seed in the Atlantic region in the men's tournament while the women will be the No. 3 seed in the region.
"It's difficult because there's no rebounding when you lose this late in the season, so you keep them loose," Charleston men's soccer coach Chris Grassie said. "Leading up to this, we're going to keep the good times going in practice, we won't do too much tactical work and we'll make sure their spirit is where it needs to be.
"We've worked all season to get here, now we have to just let them go."
On the men's side, UC enters this season looking to finish the job it started each of the last two seasons when the Golden Eagles came close to winning the national championship but couldn't quite capture their ultimate goal.
After losing in the national championship game in 2014, Charleston lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Pfeiffer. But despite that, this group hasn't dwelled on those losses or put too much pressure on themselves to avenge the defeats of years past.
"This team has seemed like a completely different team because we have so many new players and we lost so many guys from last year that it feels like a fresh start for us," Grassie said. "I don't think we're carrying any baggage from the past. This is a new team, we play a little differently and it feels like a group that's ready to make its own mark."
This year they will start by hosting fourth-seeded West Chester, the only team in the region the Golden Eagles have yet to face. The other matchup will be between Mercyhurst, which UC beat 4-1 early in the season, and an Urbana team that the Golden Eagles defeated two of the three times they faced each other this season.
"The PSAC is a good conference and they have teams that have made runs in the past," Grassie said. "We are familiar with all of the teams and they're all hard working. We're confident that we can beat these teams though."
The UC women's soccer team will also be in familiar territory as it will travel to Kutztown for an opening round matchup against No. 6 seed Edinboro.
The showdown is a rematch of last year's first round matchup when Edinboro outlasted UC in penalty kicks.
"We're excited about this tournament, and that was a great game the last time," UC women's soccer coach Todd Diuguid said. "The coaches in this part of the bracket have been around for a long time. Not only will it be good soccer but it will be good to play against some quality coaches and teams."
The Golden Eagles fell on penalty kicks in the MEC championship game and enter the NCAA tournament with an overall record of 14-3-3.
Going into the opening round of the tournament, Charleston enters on a five-match unbeaten streak and it has outscored opponents 8-1 during that stretch.
But, like Grassie, Diuguid knows that the postseason can be a different animal and is confident that his team will be ready to take on the challenge.
"It's win or you're done. There's no tomorrow if you don't win today," Diuguid said. "We have to put forth all of our effort, minimize your mistakes and maximize your opportunities. We're going to tell them just to do their best and hopefully we can win the day."