2021 NCAA Tournament Bracket
GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Eight teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference earned bids to the 2021 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship, as announced Monday. The ACC not only picked up the most berths of any conference, but also claimed four of the top eight national seeds. This marks the ninth straight season in which the ACC placed the most teams in the tournament, and it is the 21st consecutive season that at least five league teams earned a bid.
ACC champion Notre Dame (4), Pitt (5), Duke (7) and Clemson (8) earned national seeds, while Louisville, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest also picked up bids in the field. All eight teams will start the tournament on their home fields.
An ACC team has won the men’s national soccer championship 17 times, most of any conference. At least one ACC squad has reached the College Cup in 19 of the last 20 seasons, with 11 different league programs reaching the sport’s highest stage.
Notre Dame (12-5-3) opens at home Sunday against the winner of the Thursday match between Vermont and Villanova.
Pitt (11-5-1) starts Sunday versus the winner of the Northern Illinois-Oakland clash. The Panthers are making their third straight appearance in the tournament and fifth all-time.
ACC runner-up Duke (13-4-1) begins tournament play Sunday by playing host to the winner of UCLA-UCSB match. The Blue Devils are making their 28th NCAA appearance.
Making its 34th appearance in the NCAA field, Clemson (13-5-0) opens Sunday at Historic Riggs Field against the Grand-Canyon-Denver winner.
Louisville (10-6-1) plays host to Bowling Green (10-5-3) on Thursday, with the winner moving on to take on No. 15 seed Indiana on Sunday. The Cardinals earned an NCAA bid for the 13th time in program history.
North Carolina (11-6-1) picked up its 28th tournament bid and takes on Loyola (Maryland) (10-6-3), champions of the Patriot League, on Thursday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The winner advances to play at No. 16 seed New Hampshire on Sunday.
Virginia Tech (10-5-3) claimed its sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 10th all-time. The Hokies entertain Big South champion Campbell (15-3-2) on Thursday in a first-round match. The winner travels to No. 11 seed West Virginia on Sunday.
Making its 25th NCAA appearance, Wake Forest (11-6-1) plays host to Southern Conference champion Mercer (10-7-1) on Thursday. The winner travels to No. 13 seed Florida International on Sunday. The Demon Deacons will make their 11th straight NCAA appearance, the longest active streak among ACC programs.
The 48-team field is comprised of champions from 23 conferences that qualified automatically, in addition to 25 at-large selections. The top 16 teams were seeded and receive first-round byes. All first-round games will be played Thursday, Nov. 18, on campus sites, while all second-round action will take place Sunday, Nov. 21. The third round will be played Nov. 27 and 28, while the quarterfinals will be played Dec. 3 and 4.
The 2021 NCAA College Cup will be held Dec. 10 and 12 at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. ESPNU will have live coverage of all three matches.