Marquette University Athletics
Marquette Makes Fourth NCAA Tournament
4/19/2021 10:49:00 AM | Men's Soccer
The Golden Eagles will play LMU on Sunday, May 2
MILWAUKEE - For the first time since 2013, the Marquette University men's soccer team has earned a bid to the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, it was announced Monday. This year's field has 36 teams, which is reduced from previous years, when it has 48 teams.
The No. 18/17 Golden Eagles (8-2-1, 5-1-1 BIG EAST)Â earned an at-large bid and will take on No. 4 Loyola Marymount (6-0-2, 5-0-2 WCC) on Sunday, May 2 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. Game time will be announced at a later date. The Lions earned an automatic bid by defeating Saint Mary's in the West Coast Conference championship game on April 11.
Marquette has endured a thrilling 2021 season, going unbeaten in non-conference play and winning the BIG EAST Midwest Division with a 5-1-1 conference record. MU went a perfect 3-0 in non-conference games, defeating Loyola Chicago, Northern Illinois and Saint Louis. The Golden Eagles won a program-record six overtime games and eight of their 11 games needed extra time to decide the match. MU tied a program record with five All-BIG EAST selections and had the conference freshman of the year in Beto Soto.
Preliminary round games of the tournament will take place at the campus venues of University of North Carolina Wilmington, UNC Greensboro and Wake Forest, in addition to Bryan Park (Greensboro, North Carolina), J. Burt Gillette Athletic Complex (Wilson, North Carolina), Sportsplex (Matthews, North Carolina) and WakeMed Soccer Park (Cary, North Carolina).
Four first-round games will be played Thursday, April 29, while all second-round action will take place Sunday, May 2. The third round will be played May 6, while the quarterfinals will be played May 10. For the first time the College Cup will feature the Division I men's and women's soccer national champions being crowned on the same weekend at Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. The men's semifinals will take place on May 14 and national championship game on May 17 with all three matches being televised live on ESPNU. This will be the sixth time the men's national champion has been crowned in Cary with Georgetown (2019), Maryland (2005), Virginia (2009, 2014) and Wake Forest (2007) winning previously.
Marquette is one of three BIG EAST teams (out of 11) selected to compete in this year's NCAA tournament, joining Georgetown and conference tournament champion Seton Hall.Â
This will be MU's fourth overall trip to the NCAA tournament. The Golden Eagles made back-to-back trips in 2012 and 2013 in addition to the 1997 season. They are 1-3 all-time in the NCAA tournament, with the win coming in the first round of the 2013 tournament against Akron.
TEAMS RECEIVING CONFERENCE AUTOMATIC BIDS (22)
American Athletic Conference – UCF
America East Conference – New Hampshire
Atlantic Coast Conference – Clemson
ASUN Conference - Jacksonville
Atlantic 10 Conference – Fordham
BIG EAST Conference – Seton Hall
Big South Conference – High Point
Big Ten Conference – Indiana
Colonial Athletic Association – James Madison
Conference USA – Marshall
Horizon League – Milwaukee
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Monmouth
Mid-American Conference – Bowling Green
Missouri Valley Conference – Missouri St.
Northeast Conference – St. Francis Brooklyn
Pac-12 Conference – Stanford
Patriot League – American
Southern Conference – UNC Greensboro
Summit League – Denver
Sun Belt Conference – Coastal Carolina
West Coast Conference – LMU (CA)
Western Athletic Conference – Air Force
TEAMS RECEIVING AT-LARGE BIDS (14)
Charlotte, Georgetown, Grand Canyon, Kentucky, Marquette, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon St., Penn St., Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Washington.
Keep up with the Marquette men's soccer program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteSoccer) and Instagram (@MarquetteSoccer) and `liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteSoccer).
