2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament


The 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament was the 60th edition of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, a postseason tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I men's college soccer. The first four rounds of the competition were held at the home ground of the higher seed, while the College Cup were held at Harder Stadium on the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara. The championship match was held on December 10, 2018 with the Maryland Terrapins defeating the Akron Zips 1–0 to claim their fourth title in program history.
Maryland did not yield any goals in this year's College Cup, maintaining a clean-sheet and out-scoring opponents, 6–0. This was Sasho Cirovski's third title as the Maryland coach. The Stanford Cardinal came into this tournament as the three-time defending NCAA champions. In last year's final, Stanford defeated Indiana in extra time, 1–0. This year, however, Stanford was defeated by eventual runner-up, Akron, 3–2, in the quarterfinal.

Qualification

As in previous editions of the NCAA Division I Tournament, the tournament features 48 participants out of a possible field of 203 teams. Of the 48 berths, 24 are allocated to the 21 conference tournament champions and to the regular season winners of the Ivy League, Pac-12 Conference, and West Coast Conference, which do not have tournaments. The remaining 24 berths are supposed to be determined through an at-large process based upon the Ratings Percentage Index of teams that did not automatically qualify.
The NCAA Selection Committee also names the top sixteen seeds for the tournament, with those teams receiving an automatic bye into the second round of the tournament. The remaining 32 teams play in a single-elimination match in the first round of the tournament for the right to play a seeded team in the second round.

Qualified teams

TeamQualified asQualified onQualification typePrevious appearances in tournamentPrevious best
performance		2018 Performance
SMU MustangsAmerican Conference ChampionsNovember 10, 2018Automatic31 Semifinals
New Hampshire WildcatsAmerican East ChampionsNovember 11, 2018Automatic2 Second Round
Louisville CardinalsACC ChampionsNovember 10, 2018Automatic10 Runners-Up
Rhode Island RamsAtlantic 10 ChampionsNovember 11, 2018Automatic11 Quarterfinals
Lipscomb BisonsASUN ChampionsNovember 10, 2018Automatic1 First Round
Georgetown HoyasBig East ChampionsNovember 11, 2018Automatic8 Runners-Up
Campbell CamelsBig South ChampionsNovember 11, 2018Automatic1 First Round
Indiana HoosiersBig Ten ChampionsNovember 11, 2018Automatic42 Champions Semifinalists
UC Riverside HighlandersBig West ChampionsNovember 10, 2018AutomaticNone —
James Madison DukesCAA ChampionsNovember 11, 2018Automatic12 Third Round
Kentucky WildcatsConference USA ChampionsNovember 11, 2018Automatic8 Third Round
UIC FlamesHorizon League ChampionsNovember 10, 2018Automatic7 Third Round
Princeton Tigers Regular Season ChampionsNovember 10, 2018Automatic9 Semifinals
Rider BroncsMAAC ChampionsNovember 11, 2018Automatic4 First Round
Akron ZipsMAC ChampionsNovember 11, 2018Automatic28 Champions Runners-Up
Central Arkansas BearsMVC ChampionsNovember 11, 2018Automatic1 First Round
LIU Brooklyn BlackbirdsNEC ChampionsNovember 11, 2018Automatic14 Runners-Up
Stanford CardinalPac-12 Regular Season ChampionsNovember 9, 2018Automatic16 Champions
Colgate RaidersPatriot League ChampionsNovember 11, 2018Automatic7 Third Round
Furman PaladinsSouthern Conference ChampionsNovember 11, 2018Automatic12 Third Round
Denver PioneersSummit League ChampionsNovember 10, 2018Automatic7 Semifinals
Georgia State PanthersSun Belt ChampionsNovember 11, 2018Automatic1 First Round
Grand Canyon AntelopesWAC ChampionsNovember 11, 2018AutomaticNone —
Saint Mary's Gaels Regular Season ChampionsNovember 4, 2018Automatic2 Quarterfinals
Wake Forest Demon DeaconsRPI No. 1November 12, 2018At-Large21 Champions
North Carolina Tar HeelsRPI No. 3November 12, 2018At-Large25 Champions
Duke Blue DevilsRPI No. 10November 12, 2018At-Large26 Champions
Notre Dame Fighting IrishRPI No. 6November 12, 2018At-Large20 Champions
Virginia CavaliersRPI No. 5November 12, 2018At-Large39 Champions
Maryland TerrapinsRPI No. 12November 12, 2018At-Large35 Champions Champions
Virginia Tech HokiesRPI No. 9November 12, 2018At-Large6 Semifinals
UCF KnightsRPI No. 13November 12, 2018At-Large5 Second Round
Syracuse OrangeRPI No. 18November 12, 2018At-Large5 Semifinals
UC Irvine AnteatersRPI No. 17November 12, 2018At-Large5 Third Round
Oregon State BeaversRPI No. 27November 12, 2018At-Large3 Second Round
High Point University PanthersRPI No. 19November 12, 2018At-LargeNone —
Charlotte 49ersRPI No. 20November 12, 2018At-Large12 Runners-Up
West Virginia MountaineersRPI No. 14November 12, 2018At-Large12 Round of 16
Michigan State SpartansRPI No. 33November 12, 2018At-Large19 Champions Semifinalists
Portland PilotsRPI No. 38November 12, 2018At-Large15 Semifinals
UCLA BruinsRPI No. 21November 12, 2018At-Large44 Champions
Washington HuskiesRPI No. 25November 12, 2018At-Large23 Quarterfinals
NC State WolfpackRPI No. 28November 12, 2018At-Large14 Semifinals
Pacific TigersRPI No. 32November 12, 2018At-Large2 Second Round
Michigan WolverinesRPI No. 36November 12, 2018At-Large6 Semifinals
UNCW SeahawksRPI No. 31November 12, 2018At-Large3 Second Round
Air Force FalconsRPI No. 22November 12, 2018At-Large12 Quarterfinals
UConn HuskiesRPI No. 24November 12, 2018At-Large35 Champions

Seeding

Schedule

Bracket

Regional 1

Host Institution*

Regional 2

Host Institution*

Regional 3

Host Institution*

Regional 4

Host Institution*

2018 College Cup

Results

First Round

Second Round

Third Round

Quarterfinals

College Cup

Semifinals

Championship

Statistics

Goalscorers

;7 Goals
;4 Goals
;3 Goals
;2 Goals
;1 Goal
;1 Own Goal