Men’s NCAA Tournament preview

The men’s soccer NCAA Tournament is by far my favorite time of the year. I’m sure I’m not alone. It’s a time when teams live out their dreams one goal at a time. It’s a time full of upsets, happy endings and stories. Every team has a history and every season has a unique story. In 2019, all roads lead to the College Cup to be held in Cary, N.C., from Dec. 13-15.

Virginia (17-1-1) leads the pack with the No. 1 overall seed. Clemson (16-2-1), Georgetown (15-1-3) and Wake Forest (13-4-2) round out the top four. The first 16 seeds receive a first-round bye.  

Indiana University makes its 33rd-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 44th overall. The Hoosiers (14-2-4) sealed their destiny by winning the Big Ten Tournament, topping Michigan 0-0 (4-3) on penalty kicks. IU received the No. 5 seed overall and will host the winner of Kentucky-Loyola Chicago Sunday at noon.

Indiana, No. 13 seed Michigan (11-4-5), Maryland (10-7-2) and No. 15 seed Penn State (12-3-3) all represent the Big Ten. Michigan makes its eighth appearance, Maryland its 37th and Penn State its 33rd. 2018 NCAA champions Maryland will face Iona (14-5-1) Thursday. The winner will face No. 4 seed Wake Forest. Iona makes its first Tournament appearance after winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament with a 3-2 win over St. Peter’s.

Loyola travels south for its matchup with the Kentucky Wildcats Thursday. The Ramblers (11-4-4) enter the NCAA Tournament after a shootout win over Missouri State 1-1 (5-4) to take the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. Loyola is making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance, last appearing in 2016.

Kentucky (12-4-3) returns to the NCAA field for the second-straight year. The Wildcats received an at-large bid after falling 1-0 to Marshall in the Conference USA semifinals. Kentucky advanced to the quarterfinals in the 2018 tournament, falling to eventual NCAA Champion Maryland 1-0. The Wildcats will make their 10th NCAA Tournament appearance, including sixth in the last eight years.

The Butler Bulldogs make their ninth NCAA Tournament appearance and will host West Virginia Thursday. Butler (11-6-2) earned its third at-large bid in the tournament. West Virginia (9-8-2) won the MAC Tournament, earning its second consecutive and 14th overall NCAA Tournament bid. The winner of Thursday’s match will face NCAA Tournament newcomer Marshall (15-2-3). Marshall earned the No. 11 seed after topping Charlotte 2-1 to win the Conference USA Tournament.

Notre Dame (10-7-1) earned its 22nd NCAA Tournament bid and will host Wright State (10-8-3) Thursday. Wright State earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the Horizon League Championship. Notre Dame is one of 10 Athletic Coast Conference Teams to make the Tournament. The ACC adds Virginia, Clemson, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, NC State, Louisville, Boston College and Pitt. Ten teams from one conference are a new NCAA Tournament record.

Sixteen games take place on Thursday, with 16 more on Sunday. By this time next week, the field will look different. And the stories will begin to tell themselves.

RANDOM MENTIONABLES

• NJIT (10-4-4) makes its first NCAA Tourney appearance, while Pitt (9-7-2) is making its third appearance and first since 1965.

• Akron (6-10-2) and Michigan State (3-12-3) rounded out the Final Four in 2018. Both teams fell short of the 2019 bracket.

• No. 7 seed Stanford (13-2-3) returns to the tournament for the 18th time. Stanford won three straight championships from 2015 to 2017.

Follow Kathryn on Twitter: @Katknapp99.

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