NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament Preview

Story posted April 24, 2021 in CommRadio, Sports by Zach Martin

When most people think of a collegiate athletics tournament in April, their minds tend to wander toward men’s basketball. But this year, the NCAA women’s soccer tournament is getting started on April 27, nearly a year and a half after the last one ended.

Penn State head coach Erica Dambach is no stranger to what this tournament has to offer despite the uncommon timing. Dambach has previously led the Nittany Lions to the NCAA championship game twice, including the team’s first ever national title in 2015. Not to mention Dambach took home Big Ten Coach of the Year this season, her fifth at Penn State.

The Nittany Lions, although falling to Iowa in the Big Ten semifinals 1-0, took home the regular season title with a record of 10-2-1. This is the 20th time in program history that Penn State has earned such a feat. Four other Big Ten teams have also earned a spot in the tournament.

Compared to the traditional 64-team setup that the women’s tournament usually features, only 48 teams will be competing this year to compensate for the programs that didn’t play a season.

Teams ranked No. 1 through 16 will receive a first-round bye in this year’s tournament. Penn State just missed the cut, however, and will be matched up with Alabama State in the first round. This will be the first time the two teams have faced off.

Alabama State earned a spot in the tournament after taking home the SWAC championship and finished the season 8-2-2.

Penn State has reached the third round of the tournament each of the past three seasons and are in a good position to do so again. If the Nittany Lions can collect a win in the first round, they’ll take on Vanderbilt, ranked 16th in the tournament, which is the lowest seed of all teams that earned a bye.

No. 1 Florida State is also on Penn State’s side of the bracket; the Seminoles are the only team in the tournament to win every regular-season game they played.

There will be no easy road on the way to the championship, but after another dominant season by the Nittany Lions, they can’t be counted out. Behind Big Ten Forward of the Year Ally Schlegel, Big Ten Midfielder of the Year Sam Coffey, and Big Ten co-Freshman of the Year Eva Alonso, the Nittany Lions will have an array of weapons to rely on.

All of the games in the tournament will be played in and around Cary, North Carolina, in order to limit travel in consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To follow the action, games through the quarterfinals will be broadcast on NCAA.com while semifinal and final games will be aired on the ESPN family of networks.

 

Zach Martin is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism and finance. To contact him, email him @zrm5120@gmail.com.