MELBOURNE, Fla. – After releasing the NCAA South Regional seeds on Monday evening, No. 6 seed Florida Tech (9-7-3) gears up to face No. 3 seed Lee University (16-4-0) at Nova Southeastern's campus on Friday afternoon. The NCAA First Round match represents the first ever showdown between the two South Regional squads.

After defeating No. 1 seed Mississippi College 1-0 in the Gulf South Conference Championship, the Flames reached the No. 6 spot in the United Soccer Coaches Poll national ranking.

With this year's nomination, the Flames have had three back-to-back bids into the NCAA First Round. However, in the last two editions Lee ended its post-season run early, dropping to Rollins 3-2 in 2016 and 1-0 to Tampa in the 2015.

Heading into the tournament, the Flames are riding on a 9-game winning streak that began after a narrow 3-2 win over the University of West Florida. However, the team can give much of the thanks to one person inside the Flames lineup, two-time GSC Player of the Year defender Summer Lanter. Over the course of the streak, the defender has scored 11 goals in six of the nine games played.

Due to her performance, it is no surprise that the red-shirt senior was named the 2017 GSC Tournament Most Valuable Player, after scoring five goals during the GSC playoffs. Among the GSC leaderboard, Lanter ranks first in goals with a team-best 17, as well as for points (36) and game-winning goals (8).
During the post season, the Flames racked up 52 shots, seven goals, three saves and five assists. Overall as a team, Lee counts 414 shots, 42 goals, 28 assists and 112 points.

In a face-off that will see the reigning champions of two south region conferences, the Panthers return to the NCAA spotlight after falling short in the Second Round of the 2013 NCAA South Regional Tournament. During that year, Florida Tech clinched a 1-0 victory over the Valdosta State Blazers, but missed the qualifier in a narrow 1-2 loss to the West Florida Argonauts.

This year's participation marks the fifth NCAA appearance for the Crimson and Gray within the past 10 years.

Florida Tech returns to the Ft. Lauderdale turf after recording the first ever SSC title in program history. Goalie Karlyn Prisco received her first-career MVP award, and now leads the SSC leaderboard with 85 saves for a .794 save percentage.

All-SSC First Team Munoz leads FIT with a conference-high 74 shots, while counting six goals and three game-winning goals. Also stepping up big in the post season, Zanganeh and Eller netted one and two goals respectively during the SSC Tournament.

Within the playoff action, the Panthers accumulated 27 shots, three goals, 10 saves and two assists. Amid the SSC leaderboard, Florida Tech ranks second as a team for shots with 265. The Crimson and Gray also count 23 goals, 16 assists, 87 saves and 62 points.

The teams will step onto the field tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET. The winner of the match will face No. 2 seed Nova Southeastern on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 12 p.m. ET.

For live coverage of the event, fans can access FloridaTechSports.com.