NCAA Tournament Bracket
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Nine Atlantic Coast Conference teams earned a bid to the 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship, announced Monday afternoon. The nine bids ties the ACC’s own NCAA record which was set last year.
No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Louisville, No. 6 Duke, No. 8 Clemson, No. 11 Virginia, and No. 12 Notre Dame were selected as national seeds, as seven ACC teams earned one of the 16 seeds with first round byes for the second straight year. NC State and Virginia Tech also earned at-large berths in the tournament.
The ACC now holds three of the four highest bid totals in a year in tournament history, with nine in 2016 and 2017 and eight in 2005. It marks the fifth straight year that the ACC has placed the most teams in the tournament, and it is 17th consecutive that at least five league teams have earned a bid.
No. 1 Wake Forest (17-1-2), which won the ACC Atlantic Division and ACC Championship this year, will play either William & Mary or Columbia on Sunday at 5 p.m. The Demon Deacons earned the top overall seed for the fifth time in program history, marking the 14th time in the last 23 years that the No. 1 seed has been from the ACC.
No. 3 North Carolina (14-3-1), which won the ACC Coastal Division for the third year in a row, earned its 25th tournament bid and a national seed for the eighth time in the last 10 years. The Tar Heels will host the winner of UNC Wilmington and Presbyterian on Sunday.
Louisville (11-2-4) earned the No. 4 seed for the second straight year and will play the winner of California and San Francisco in the second round. The Cardinals are making their 10th tournament appearance in the last 11 years.
No. 6 Duke (12-4-2) will play the winner of FIU and Omaha on Sunday at 6 p.m. The Blue Devils, who earned a national seed for the fifth time, are making their 26th appearance in the tournament and first since 2011.
Making its fifth straight NCAA berth, Clemson (12-5-1) earned the No. 8 seed and will face the winner of Mercer and Coastal Carolina on Sunday. The Tigers are making the 30th tournament appearance in program history and earned a national seed for the fourth straight season.
Virginia (12-3-5) was named the No. 11 seed and will play either Fordham or St. Francis Brooklyn in the second round. It is the 37th consecutive tournament appearance for the Cavaliers, the longest active streak in Division I men’s soccer, and they are seeded for the 17th time in the last 24 years.
No. 12 Notre Dame (11-6-2) earned a bid for the 16th time in the last 17 years and will face the winner of Wisconsin and Illinois-Chicago on Sunday. The Irish are making their 20th appearance in the tournament.
NC State (8-5-4) earned a bid for the first time since 2009. Led by first year head coach George Kiefer, the Wolfpack will travel to Old Dominion for the first round with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Virginia Tech (9-9-0), which advanced to the Elite Eight last year, will host Air Force on Thursday at 7 p.m. with the winner advancing to play No. 7 Michigan State on Sunday.
All first-round games will be played Thursday, Nov. 16, on campus sites, while all second-round action will take place Sunday, Nov. 19. The third round will be played Nov. 25 and 26, while the quarterfinals will be played Dec. 1 and 2. The Men’s College Cup will be held Dec. 8 and 10 at Talen Energy Stadium in Philadelphia with live coverage on ESPNU for the semifinals and ESPN2 for the national championship game.
An ACC team has won the national championship 17 times, including in seven of the past 12 years. At least one ACC squad has reached the College Cup in 16 straight seasons, while 10 different league programs have reached the sport’s highest stage. Last year, an NCAA-record eight ACC teams advanced to the Sweet 16, five advanced to the quarterfinals, and North Carolina and Wake Forest reached the College Cup.