CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- For the first time in 11 years, America East will send multiple teams to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship, it was announced by the NCAA on Monday evening. Vermont, the conference champions, earned the league's automatic bid to the tournament, while Boston University received an at-large berth.
The Catamounts (9-9-1), who edged Binghamton 1-0 on November 17 to capture their first conference crown since 2000, will travel to Dartmouth (11-4-2) on either Saturday, November 24 at 2:30 p.m. The Big Green, one of three Ivy League teams to make the field, finished second in the league standings. The winner of that contest will take on the No. 4 overall seed Connecticut (18-2-1) in the second round on Wednesday, November 28. The Huskies, the Big East champions, are ranked No. 2 in the country.
The Terriers (9-6-4) , who finished third in the conference standings, will face Massachusetts(13-7-1) in Amherst, Mass. on Friday, November 23 at 12 noon. Boston U., which lost to the Minutemen 1-0 on September 29, earned the bid in large part to its non-conference schedule. The Terriers faced five teams in the Top 20 of the RPI and dealt No. 6 Brown its only loss of the season October 2. The winner will face top-seeded Boston College (15-4-1) on Wednesday, Nov. 28 in Newton, Mass. The Eagles knocked off top-ranked Wake Forest on Sunday to win the ACC title.
It is the first time since 1996 that the conference will send multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament. That season, Boston U. won the conference title and fell to Havard, 3-2, in the opening round. Hartford received an at-large bid and defeated Rhode Island, 3-2 in double overtime, in the first round. The Hawks won their second-round matchup against the Crimson, 3-2, before losing in the quarterfinals to UNC Charlotte, 3-0.