NCAA selects men's 48-team tourney field

The field is set for the 2010 NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament, with 48 teams chosen for the big dance and a few disappointed at being left out.

CLICK HERE FOR MEN’S TOURNAMENT MATCH SCHEDULE AND SCOREBOARD

CLICK HERE FOR THE 2010 BRACKET

Louisville is the #1 overall seed for the tournament.  Ken Lolla’s squad is one of just two undefeated teams in the nation, going 16-0-3 overall en route to a Big East regular season and tournament championship, and will open the tournament at home against the winner of a 1st-round matchup between East Tennessee State and College of Charleston.

Maryland will be the #2 seed. Sasho Cirovski’s squad will host the winner of Bucknell vs. Penn in a 2nd round contest.

Akron, which lost to Virginia on penalties in last year’s NCAA final, is also set to host up to three tournament games after being assigned a #3 seed. The Zips are 18-1-1 and will play the winner of Xavier vs. West Virginia in the opening round.

The 4th overall seed, which also allows a team to host the three games prior to the NCAA College Cup (Final Four) in Santa Barbara, CA. Dec. 10-12, goes to Elmar Bolowich’s North Carolina Tar Heels. UNC will play the winner of UNC Greensboro vs. Georgetown.  

As far as the overall selection, the RPI once again largely dictated the field. Programs that will feel aggrieved about being left out include Washington, UAB and UC Irvine. Teams that may have snuck in just under the cutoff include Denver, New Mexico and College of Charleston

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)

Louisville Bracket

East Tennessee State at College of Charleston (Thursday Nov. 18)
Winner plays at Louisville (1) on Sunday Nov. 21

St. Peter’s(m) at Providence (Thursday Nov. 18)
Winner plays at Ohio State (16) on Sunday Nov. 21

Dartmouth at Monmouth (Thursday Nov. 18)
Winner plays at Notre Dame (9) on Sunday Nov. 21

Santa Clara at Sacramento State (Thursday Nov. 18)
Winner plays at UCLA (8) on Sunday Nov. 21

North Carolina Bracket

New Mexico at Creighton (12) (Thursday Nov. 18)
Winner plays at SMU (5) on Sunday Nov. 21

UMBC at Princeton (Thursday Nov. 18)
Winner plays at William & Mary(m) (12) on Sunday Nov. 21

Oakland at Michigan State (Thursday Nov. 18)
Winner plays at Butler (13) on Sunday Nov. 21

UNC Greensboro at Georgetown (13) (Thursday Nov. 18)
Winner plays at North Carolina (4) on Sunday Nov. 21)

Akron Bracket

Xavier at West Virginia (Thursday Nov. 18)
Winner plays at Akron (3) on Sunday Nov. 21

Bradley at Tulsa (Thursday Nov. 18)
Winner plays at Indiana (14) on Sunday Nov. 21

Boston College at Brown (Thursday Nov. 18)
Winner plays at Connecticut (11) on Sunday Nov. 21

Denver at UC Santa Barbara (Thursday Nov. 18)
Winner plays at California (6) on Sunday Nov. 21

Maryland Bracket

Coastal Carolina at Duke (Thursday Nov. 18)
Winner plays at South Carolina (7) on Sunday Nov. 21

South Florida at UCF (Thursday Nov. 18)
Winner plays at Michigan (10) on Sunday Nov. 21

Old Dominion at Virginia (Thursday Nov. 18)
Winner plays at Penn State (15) on Sunday Nov. 21

Bucknell at Penn (Thursday Nov. 18)
Winner plays at Maryland (2) on Sunday Nov. 21