Check our out Men's NCAA Tournament Bracket

The NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament selection and seedings have been announced by the tournament committee, with the undefeated Akron Zips being rewarded with the top seed in the 48-team field.

ACC rivals Virginia (2) and Wake Forest (3) follow in the seeding, with Big Ten regular season and tournament champions Ohio State seeded 4th.

The 16 seeded teams in the men’s event receive a bye from the first round matches to be played this Thursday. The seeds will meet the winners of the 16 first round games on Sunday.

Some interesting notes from the draw:

• Horizon League regular season champion Butler drew a seed and will face the winner of perennial Big Ten power Indiana (a team the Bulldogs beat in the regular season) and Big East stalwart Louisville. Butler is the only team among 16 seeds that will not host a game.
• Of the major conferences, the ACC led with 7 teams, while the Big East and Big Ten each placed 5.
• The Ivy League placed 4 teams in the event.
• With the pairings are based largely on geography, 7 of the 16 first-round matches feature in-state rivals. Most of the other games involve just a few hours of driving, but the Wofford Terriers of Spartanburg, South Carolina, will be flying all the way to UC Santa Barbara to play the Gauchos in their opener.
• The two teams in the final TDS Tournament 48 National Ranking who were not selected were William & Mary(m) and San Diego State. Getting in instead were Charlotte and Dartmouth.

Following are the brackets for the 2009 NCAA Men’s College Soccer Tournament including seedings and match locations – courtesy NCAA of Communications:

Akron Bracket

Tampa, Florida
First round – Stetson at South Florida - 7:30 p.m.
Second round – Winner at No. 1 Akron - 4 p.m.

Stanford, California
First round – St. Mary's (CA) at Stanford -7 p.m.
Second round – Winner at No. 16 UC Irvine - 6 p.m.

South Bend, Indiana
First round – Wisconsin-Green Bay at Notre Dame - 7:30 p.m.
Second round – Winner at No. 9 Northwestern - 1 p.m.

St. Louis, Missouri
First round – Missouri State at St. Louis(m) - 7 p.m.
Second round – Winner at No. 8 Tulsa - 2 p.m.

Check our out Men's NCAA Tournament Bracket

Ohio State Bracket

Providence, Rhode Island
First round – Stony Brook at Brown - 7 p.m.
Second round – Winner at No. 5 North Carolina - 2 p.m.

Bloomington, Indiana
First round – Louisville at Indiana - 7 p.m.
Second round – Winner will HOST No. 12 Butler - 1 or 2 p.m.

Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
First round – Dartmouth at Boston College - 7 p.m.
Second round – Winner at No. 13 St. John's - 6 p.m.

Des Moines, Iowa
First round – Western Illinois at Drake - 7 p.m.
Second round – Winner at No. 4 Ohio State - Noon

Check our out Men's NCAA Tournament Bracket

Wake Forest Bracket

Charlotte, North Carolina
First round – UNC Wilmington at Charlotte - 7 p.m.
Second round – Winner at No. 3 Wake Forest - 1 p.m.

Durham, North Carolina
First round – Winthrop at Duke - 7 p.m.
Second round – Winner at No. 14 Michigan State - 1 p.m.

Santa Barbara, California
First round – Wofford at UC Santa Barbara - 7 p.m.
Second round – Winner at No. 11 San Diego - 5 p.m.

Wofford will travel all the way to UC Santa Barbara. (Photo courtesy of UC Santa Barbara)

Los Angeles, California
First round – Sacramento State at Loyola Marymount - 1 or 2 p.m.
Second round – Winner at No. 6 UCLA - 5 p.m.

Check our out Men's NCAA Tournament Bracket

Virginia Bracket

College Park, Maryland
First round – Loyola (MD) at Maryland - 7 p.m.
Second round – Winner at No. 7 Penn State - 1 p.m.

West Long Branch, New Jersey
First round – Connecticut at Monmouth - Noon
Second round – Winner at No. 10 Harvard - 1:30 p.m.

Albuquerque, New Mexico
First round – Portland at New Mexico
Second round – Winner at No. 15 NC State – 1 p.m.

Princeton, New Jersey
First round – Bucknell at Princeton - 7 p.m.
Second round – Winner at No. 2 Virginia - 7 p.m.

Check our out Men's NCAA Tournament Bracket