The Impacts Of Eliminating Overtime In NCAA

In April, the NCAA approved overtime changes to college soccer. The approval came just two months after the changes were proposed to the committee. The new rules are set to be in use starting during the 2022 season. 

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Regular Season

The new NCAA changes mean that no overtime will be played during the regular season. Instead, if teams are tied after regulation, it will end in a tie. 

Before, teams would play two 10-minute periods with a golden goal rule for overtime. The new rule changes bring the college game closer to the professional leagues. 

In college soccer, there isn’t much time between regular-season games, with quick turnarounds each week. In addition, the jammed pack schedule leads to players getting tired and overworked quickly. Forcing players to play overtime during the regular season was a lot for every team.  

While it doesn’t change the scheduling, eliminating overtime hopefully will help cut down on fatigue and injuries. 

We’ll likely see a lot more ties in the college game, which could affect the standings later in the season, making tournament selection a more difficult task. But in terms of looking out for the players, this is probably the right move. 

Tournament Play

During the postseason, teams will play two ten-minute periods in their entirety. There is no longer a golden rule. If the game is still tied after the two periods are played, it will go to a penalty kick shootout.  

It’s not a drastic change to the postseason rules, but it will most definitely change how coaches decide to play the game in an overtime situation. 

All in all, these changes should be a good thing for the sport.

Featured image via @ncaasoccer on Instagram

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