Call it a second chance.

The Missouri women’s soccer team received an at-large bid Monday and was granted an NCAA tournament spot for the first time since 2008, when it was ousted in the second round by Illinois.

As it happens, the Tigers will face the very same opponent this time around.

The Illini will visit Walton Stadium in Columbia for the tournament’s first round at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Illinois erased Missouri’s national championship hopes four years ago in a double overtime, 4-3 win.

“Illinois is a good team,” coach Bryan Blitz said. “I mean, we know them well, they know us well. … They’re well-coached, so it should be a heck of a game.”

Amid banners and balloons, Missouri held a watch party Monday afternoon at Coley’s, where players and fans gathered around a projector and watched the NCAA tournament selection process.

“I am so excited,” senior defender Allison Hu said. “You know, there were rumors we were getting a bid, but I didn’t believe it until I saw it.”

The Tigers ended the season on a 2-5 slide after a 12-2 start. Most recently, Missouri fell to Florida 3-0 in the second round of the 2012 Southeastern Conference Soccer Tournament.

The tournament bid and another game at Walton Stadium were huge reliefs, senior midfielder Jessica Greer said. In 2009, her freshman year, Missouri won the Big 12 Conference regular season title but didn’t get picked for the tournament.

“It was like a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Greer said. “I almost teared up. … One more game at home. I hope we get the win. Being able to play another game at home is sort of like redemption after Senior Day, when we didn’t get the win (Oct. 21 against Louisiana State, 3-1). Just being able to go out on the field one more time will be one of the highlights of my career.”

Blitz was booted from the game Friday against Florida after disagreeing with foul calls. Due to the ejection, Blitz will not be able to coach Saturday’s tournament game against Illinois. Associate coach Todd Schulenberger and assistant coach Shauna Daugherty will take the reigns, Blitz said.