The NCAA men’s soccer tournament got underway Thursday with a shocker, as Virginia (12-8-1) was upset 1-0 in double overtime by Delaware (13-5-4).
With their first-ever NCAA tournament victory, the Blue Hens earned a trip out to Southern California although there won’t be a chance for them to catch MLS Cup. Instead, UCLA (15-4-1) and assistant coach Kenny Arena will host a second-round game in Westwood that kicks off at 7 pm PT, just after his pop, L.A. Galaxy boss Bruce Arena, lines up his team for MLS Cup down the road in Carson.
Meanwhile, despite a late-season skid, the Maryland (13-3-3) still managed to garner the tournament’s No. 5 seed and the possibility of two home games. On Sunday, the Terps will face West Virginia (12-7-1) for the second time this year in College Park after the Mountaineers (12-7-1) topped Xavier (12-5-4) in Morgantown on a golden goal from MLS prospect Eric Schoenle. Maryland beat the Mountaineers, 3-1, in the second game of the season.
Also on Sunday, James Madison (12-4-2), the 14th seed, will host Wake Forest (8-7-5), a 4-3 winner over South Carolina (9-7-2) in penalty kicks. A likely clash with Connecticut awaits the winner in the third round.
Old Dominion (12-5-2), which edged Liberty (11-6-3) in penalty kicks, 5-4, will visit Indiana (12-3-5).
Meanwhile, both American and George Washington fell short of NCAA tournament berths with defeats in their respective conference championship games. The Eagles (7-12-2) dropped a 2-0 decision to Colgate in the Patriot League final while the Colonials fell in penalty kicks to Xavier, 4-3, after a 1-1 draw ending the 24-year head coaching career of George Lidster.
The Colonials announced Thursday that assistant Craig Jones, a former player who has been on Lidster’s staff since 2002, has been promoted to take the head job.
The second round of the women’s NCAA tournament kicked off at 3:30, with Maryland (11-5-4) facing Auburn (15-6-2) at Oklahoma State, where the entire community is mourning the loss of Oklahoma State women’s basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant coach Miranda Serna, who were both killed in a plane crash in Arkansas on Thursday night. Virginia (15-4-2) will host Washington State (13-6-3) this evening after Virginia Tech (13-7-1) faces Texas A&M (16-5-2) this afternoon, also in Charlottesville.
The stream for the Maryland game can be found here.
