Breaking Down the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament Bracket

Sixty-four teams were selected for the 2023 NCAA Tournament on Monday, November 6 on NCAA.com’s selection show, with the No. 1 seeds being Florida State, UCLA, BYU, and Clemson.

The four No. 1 seeds are ranked No. 1, No. 2, No. 6, and No. 7, respectively. Stanford, Texas Tech, and Penn State sit in the gap between the top seeds, but all three are No. 2 seeds in their respective quadrants.

A shock to UNC’s system–the Tar Heels are a No. 3 seed despite ending last year’s tournament in second place to UCLA. Though North Carolina has not won the title since 2012, they have been runner-up three times since 2018. However, that 3-2 double overtime thriller of the 2022 NCAA Tournament final–between UCLA and UNC–cannot be replicated until the semifinal stage of the tournament due to the differing brackets of the two sides.

In Florida State’s upper left quadrant, the seeds from second to eighth are Arkansas, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Texas, Memphis, Pittsburgh and Texas A&M. 

Idaho, Maine, Ohio, and Towson will make their first-ever tournament appearances this year, with the last three all in the upper right quadrant. 

Playing the No. 3 seed in BYU’s quadrant is Towson, while Maine is set to play the No. 4 seed in Harvard. Finally, Ohio will play Michigan State, who is the No. 5 seed. In the lower right quadrant, Idaho is going against No. 8 seed Gonzaga.

Among the 64 teams selected, 17 belong to two conferences: the Big Ten and the SEC. The Big Ten boasted nine tournament berths, with five being seeded (Penn State, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, and Michigan State) and four unseeded (Rutgers, Ohio State, Indiana, and Michigan). Georgia, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Alabama, Mississippi State, Tennessee, and South Carolina represent the Southeastern Conference in the tournament.

With the first, second, and third rounds, as well as the quarterfinals, being at to-be-determined sites, the 42nd NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament will hold its semifinals and final matches in Cary, North Carolina, on December 1 and 3, respectively.

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