NCAA selects Women's 64-team field

The field is set for the 2010 NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament, with 64 teams chosen for the big dance a and a few disappointed at being left out.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL BRACKET

CLICK HERE FOR WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT MATCH SCHEDULE AND SCOREBOARD

As expected, Stanford is the #1 overall seed for the tournament. Paul Ratcliffe’s squad is the only undefeated team in the nation, going 18-0-2 overall en route to a Pac-10 championship, and will open the tournament at home against Sacramento State of the Big Sky Conference. Stanford lost last year’s final to North Carolina.

The Tar Heels, looking for their 21st national title and 3rd in a row, will be a top seed as well. Anson Dorrance’s squad will play Jackson State (MS) in Chapel Hill this Friday.

Portland, which lost at UCLA in last year’s quarterfinals, is set to host up to four tournament games after achieving a #1 seed. The Pilots are 18-1-1 and will play UT San Antonio in the opening round.

The 4th overall seed, which also guarantees a team to host its four games prior to the College Cup (Final 4) in Cary, NC Dec. 3-5., goes to Brian Pensky’s Maryland Terrapins. Maryland will play High Point of the Big South Conference

As far as the overall selection, the RPI once again largely dictated the field. One program that will feel aggrieved about being left out is Sun Belt Conference regular season champions Denver, who lost on penalties in the conference tournament final to Middle Tennessee State(w) and have a record of  19-2-1. Georgia and Nebraska are also near-misses. Possible beneficiaries in getting into the field (although it’s difficult to say for certain) include Auburn, Virginia Tech or Michigan.

Check back later today for reaction from the TopDrawerSoccer.com editorial staff on the field – including our predictions for the sweet 16, final 4 and tournament champion.

You can see those blogs HERE.

Finally, let us know what YOU think about the field and who is going to do well. Just click on the comment section below and weigh in with your thoughts. Who is going to win it all?

A full schedule of the 1st and 2nd round matches by bracket:
(Numbers in parentheses indicate seed)

Stanford Bracket

At Stanford (Nov. 12 & 14)
Stanford (1) vs. Sacramento State
Long Beach State vs. Santa Clara

At UCLA (Nov. 11 & 13)
UCLA vs. BYU
Fresno State vs. UCF (4)

At  Marquette (Nov. 12 & 14)
Marquette (3) vs. Central Michigan
Wisconsin-Milwaukee vs. Wisconsin

At Florida State (Nov. 12 & 14)
South Florida vs. Auburn
Florida State (2) vs. Middle Tennessee State(w)

Portland Bracket

At Boston College (Nov. 12 & 14)
Boston College (2) vs. Boston University
Connecticut vs. Hofstra

At West Virginia (Nov. 12 & 14)
Penn State vs. Penn
West Virginia (3) vs. Morehead State

At  Wake Forest (Nov. 12 & 14)
Wake Forest (4) vs. San Diego
UC Irvine vs. Arizona State

At Portland (Nov. 12 & 14)
Oklahoma vs. Washington
UT San Antonio vs. Portland (1)

Maryland Bracket

At Maryland (Nov. 12 & 14)
Maryland (1) vs. High Point
Siena College vs. Georgetown

At Minnesota (Nov. 12 & 14)
Creighton vs. Minnesota
North Dakota State vs. Texas A&M(w) (4)

At Ohio State (Nov. 12 & 14)
Ohio State (3) vs. St. Francis (PA)
Dayton vs. Virginia Tech

At Virginia (Nov. 12 & 14)
UNC Greensboro vs. South Carolina
Lehigh vs. Virginia (2)

North Carolina Bracket

At Florida (Nov. 12 & 14)
Florida (2) vs. Mercer
California vs. Duke

At Oklahoma State (Nov. 12 & 14)
Memphis vs. Oregon State
Michigan vs. Oklahoma State (3)

At Notre Dame (Nov. 12 & 14)
Notre Dame (2) vs. New Mexico
Illinois vs. USC

At North Carolina (Nov. 12 & 14)
Texas vs. James Madison
North Carolina (1) vs. Jackson State (MS)