Five Pac-12 Women's Soccer teams earn NCAA Tournament bids

NCAA Tournament Bracket: Interactive | PDF

SAN FRANCISCO – Five Pac-12 women’s soccer teams earned berths into the 2018 NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship, the Division I Women’s Soccer Committee announced today. Defending NCAA Champion STANFORD earned a No. 1 overall seed for the fifth-straight year and is joined in the field by No. 2-seeded UCLA, No. 4-seeded USC, ARIZONA and WASHINGTON STATE

The Pac-12 currently holds an all-time record of 186-125-29 (.590) in the NCAA Tournament. After last year’s first-ever all-Pac-12 College Cup final between Stanford and UCLA, the Conference owns five national championships and six second-place finishes. This is the third-straight year the Pac-12 has three teams seeded in the top four.

2017 NCAA Champion Stanford (17-0-2, 10-0-1) earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and hosts WAC Champion Seattle U. on Friday, Nov. 9. This is Stanford’s 28th NCAA Tournament appearance, 21st in a row, and has hosted the first four rounds in nine of the last 10 years, advancing to the College Cup in seven of those seasons. The Cardinal notched its fourth undefeated-regular season in program history and is riding a 41-game unbeaten streak, the sixth-longest in NCAA Division I history. The Cardinal enters the postseason with the country’s best record and second-best offense averaging 2.68 goals per game.

2017 NCAA runner-up UCLA (14-3-1, 9-2-0) earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament for its 22nd overall postseason appearance. The Bruins have a 61-18-5 all-time postseason record and have advanced to at least the round of 16 in five of the last six seasons. UCLA hosts Mountain West Champion San Jose State (9-6-6) in the first found on Friday, Nov. 9.

2016 NCAA Champion USC (15-2-2, 8-2-1) earned a No. 4 seed heading into its fifth-straight NCAA appearance. The Trojans have posted a 21-13-3 all-time record in the postseason with two NCAA title runs in 2007 and 2016, two third-round appearances and seven second-round finishes in 16 bids. USC hosts Big West Champion Long Beach State (12-5-3) on Friday, Nov. 9.

Arizona (12-5-2, 5-4-2) was selected with an at-large bid to host Summit League Champions Denver (13-5-2) in first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 9. The Wildcats earn their second-straight tournament berth and sixth all-time.

Washington State (12-5-1, 5-5-1) earned its 12th NCAA Tournament berth with an at-large bid and its fourth appearance in the last five years. The Cougars host Big Sky Champions Montana (7-8-6) on Friday, Nov. 9. WSU finished seventh in the Pac-12, but started the season 10-0-0 and were the only team with a perfect record in Division I until Oct. 4.

Thirty-one conferences were granted automatic bids for the 2018 championship, while the remaining 33 teams were selected at-large. The top-16 teams are seeded and conference teams cannot play each other in the first- or second-rounds. When pairing teams, the committee follows geographic proximity parameters. The top 16 teams will host and all other sites were selected for the first-round to create the least number of flights.

First-round games will be played November 9, 10 and 11 at campus sites. Second- and third-round games will be played November 16 and November 18, and Quarterfinal games will be played November 23 or 24. The 37th-annual NCAA Women’s College Cup will be played November 30 and December 2 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.

For more information on the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship, visit www.ncaa.com.

NCAA WOMEN’S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
Friday, Nov. 9 • First Round
Long Beach State at USC – 1:30 p.m. PT
San Jose State at UCLA – 6 p.m. PT
Seattle U at STANFORD – 7 p.m. PT
Montana at WASHINGTON STATE – 7 p.m. PT