2012 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament


The 2012 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament was the 31st annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's collegiate soccer. The semifinals and championship game were played at Torero Stadium in San Diego, California from November 30–December 2, 2012 while the preceding rounds were played at various sites across the country from November 9–23.
North Carolina defeated Penn State in the final, 4–1, to win their twenty-first national title. The Tar Heels were coached by Anson Dorrance.
The Most Outstanding Offensive Player was Kealia Ohai from North Carolina, and the Most Outstanding Defensive Player was Satara Murray, also from North Carolina. Murray and Ohai, alongside nine other players, were named to the All-Tournament Team.
The tournament's leading scorer, with 7 goals and 1 assist, was Tiffany McCarty from Florida State.

Qualification

All Division I women's soccer programs were eligible to qualify for the tournament. The tournament field remained fixed at 64 teams.

Format

Just as before, the final two rounds, deemed the Women's College Cup, were played at a pre-determined neutral site. All other rounds were played on campus sites at the home field of the higher-seeded team although with a few exceptions. The first round was played exclusively on the home fields of higher-seeded teams. However, the second and third rounds were played on the home fields of the home fields of the two remaining teams in each bracket with the highest seed. Those teams are also noted with asterisk. Finally, the quarterfinal round, or the championship match for each bracket, was played on the home field of the higher-seeded team, with no exceptions.

National Seeds

Teams

Bracket

Stanford Bracket

BYU Bracket

Penn State Bracket

Florida State Bracket

College Cup

All-tournament team

TeamHome average
Portland3,313
BYU3,257
Texas A&M2,304
New Mexico1,781
Penn St.1,601
Stanford1,576
Georgia1,514
TCU1,413
North Carolina1,399
Florida St.1,221
Utah1,208
Virginia1,172
UCLA1,152
Notre Dame1,118
Maryland1,083
Tennessee1,080
Washington1,054
Florida1,051
Texas Tech1,027
Colorado986
Texas962
Louisville949
West Virginia943
Connecticut920
Duke905
Dayton896
Santa Clara875
Kentucky873
Auburn860
Hawai'i856
LSU847
Oklahoma St.843
Arkansas841
Kennesaw St.840
Minnesota830
Alabama799
Ole Miss796
Oregon759
Oklahoma748
Charlotte740
Iowa St.730
San Diego St.722
Missouri722
South Carolina717
Idaho St.715
Vanderbilt713
Michigan708
California700
Long Beach St.698
Northern Arizona697
Memphis678
Fresno St.678
Wake Forest678
Arizona St.674
Rutgers667
Utah St.657
Cincinnati656
Cal St. Fullerton650
Marist650
Virginia Tech642
Dartmouth627
North Carolina St.625
South Florida617
Michigan St.602
Southern California601
George Mason599
Furman599
Utah Valley585
Gonzaga583
Denver580
UC Irvine570
Arizona567
Wisconsin565
Ohio St.562
Washington St.560