A total of 197 Division I teams hit the practice fields in August.  Regular season play began the first weekend in September and the regular season flew by faster than Christmas Vacation.  The NCAA Division I NCAA tournament field consists of 32 teams.  Twelve Conference Champions listed below received  automatic bids.  Eight other Conference Champions participated in a play-in game and the four winners received a ticket into the 32 team tournament field.  Those eight teams and the four who won the play-in games are also listed below. 

 

That left 16 at large slots that the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee picked  based primarily on win-lost records, strength of schedule, and opponents strength of schedule.  The sixteen at large selections were: U.A.B., Washington, Indiana, St. John’s, James Madison, Cal. State Fullerton, Stanford, Southern Methodist, Duke,  South Carolina, Dartmouth, Connecticut, Clemson, Bradley, U.C.L.A., Virginia.  The Committee also selected the top eight seeds from among the 32 team field and paired them so that the top eight seeds could not face each other until the third round of play.    The Committee indicates that the same basic criteria used to select the 16 at-large teams is used to determine the seeding. 

 

Based on the number of Division I institutions who field men’s soccer teams, there is a definite need to expand the size of the tournament field from the current cap of 32 to 42.  Hopefully NCAA approval of this will occur soon and be in place next year.  The concept of increasing the size of the field seems to have the support of just about everyone connected with college soccer.  Like many things, funding is one of the hurdles in the way but hopefully not for long. 

 

Automatic Qualifiers

 

America East Conference - Vermont wins it for the first time since 1990 defeating Towson 3-2 and Hofstra 2-1.  Both matches required O.T. to determine a winner. Coach Roy Patton’s Catamounts  have finished the season strong allowing just five goals against in the last nine games.  Mike Dias, Ryan Chapman,  freshman Nick  Azarian and keeper Chris Shaver are a solid back line.  

 

Atlantic Coast Conference - The Tarheels defeat Virginia in the Championship match to win it and  and receive #1 seed in the NCAA tourney.  Chris Carrieri, Caleb Norkus, and Michael Bucy lead an outstanding Carolina team.   

 

Big East Conference - Boston College wins it.  They are on a roll.  Sophomore Bobby Thompson named the Tourney MVP.  Keeper Chris Hamblin anchors what is becoming a very solid Eagle defense.      

 

Big Ten Conference – Ohio State defeats Wisconsin, Indiana and Penn State to win it.   Coach John Bluem’s Buckeye’s are looking good.  

 

Colonial Athletic Association - William and Mary took  no prisoners in the Tourney defeating James Madison in the final by a score of 4-0.  Prior to that they thumped UNC-Wilmington 8-0 and defeated a solid Old Dominion team 2-0.  Tribe has now won eight of it’s last ten matches.  Freshman Phillip Hucles leads the attack with 13 goals this season.  Carlos Garcia has 11 goals and 8 assists.   William and Mary is a much better team than their 12-8-2 record indicates.  

 

Conference U.S.A. -  St. Louis won it all.  As expected it was St. Louis vs. U.A.B. in the championship match.  St. Louis is an active team and will put pressure on anyone they face.  Jack Jewsbury, leads the Billiken attack with 31 points (13 G, 5A).  Nick Walls is solid up-top and Brad Davis has had an excellent freshman season.  Coach Bob Warming’s squad has a goals against average of only .89.  Team defense will help them in NCAA tourney play but this team is more effective when they think attack.  

 

Ivy League - No tourney.  It all came down to Brown vs. Dartmouth and the Bears from Brown won it to go a perfect 7-0 in Ivy League play.   

 

Mid-American Athletic Conference -  Kentucky defeated Bowling Green 1-0 to win its second consecutive Mid-American Conference Championship.  The Wildcats tend to focus on team defense and have not displayed a particularly potent attack.  The Cats are 11-8-1 for the season but it would be a mistake for an opponent to take them lightly.  

 

Mountain Pacific Sports Federation - San Jose State defeats the Titans from  C.S. Fullerton 3-2 to win the championship and remain the nation’s only undefeated team with a 20-0-1 record.  The Spartans from San Jose State are solid from top to bottom, they play solid team defense, they have a balanced attack, and Jorge Martinez is a great finisher.  Keeper Chris Humphrey’s anchors a solid Spartan defense.  

 

Missouri Valley Conference -  Creighton defeats Bradley in a final that went into four overtimes.  Obviously that one could have gone either way.  Bradley upset S.M.U. earlier in the tourney.  Creighton has a record of 18-3-0.  The Bluejays can definitely play a little soccer and could run the table all the way to Charlotte.     

 

Patriot League -  Lehigh defeats Lafayette but it took penalty kicks to determine a winner.  Lehigh is now 12-5-3 overall.  The Mountain Hawks are ready for NCAA Tournament action. 

 

West Coast Conference -  No conference tournament.  San Diego wins it finishing the season with a very impressive 15-1-2 record.  The Toreros are tough to beat at Torero Stadium as they are 20-1 when playing there over the past two seasons.  Sophomore Ryan Coiner with 17 goals and 42 points ranks 3rd in the nation in points per game and goals scored per game.  Coach Seamus McFadden’s  San Diego Toreros are very capable of making a serious run in the NCAA Tournament.   

 

Play-In Games     

 

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference vs. Mid. Continent Conference - IUPUI defeated Western Illinois 1-0 and then earned a hard fought 2-1 triple overtime win over Oakland to win the Conference Tourney.  The Jaguars have played at the Division I level for there years and the men’s soccer team is making the school’s first NCAA Division I appearance in any sport.  IUPUI Coach Steve Franklin’s team has steadily improved and deserves to be in the final 32.      

 

Atlantic Ten Conference vs. Trans American Athletic Conference - Rhode Island defeats Georgia State 4-3 in overtime.  The Rams get their fourth NCAA Tournament bid in six years.  Coach Ed Bradley’s team seems to be peaking at the right time. The Rams were down 2-0 at the half but came back to get the victory.  Forwards Gareth Elliott and Nicholas McCreath lead what can be a very potent Rhode Island attack.