Seven Pac-12 Women's Soccer teams NCAA Tournament bound

SAN FRANCISCO – Seven Pac-12 women’s soccer teams earned berths into the 2017 NCAA Women's Soccer Championship, the Division I Women’s Soccer Committee announced today. STANFORD earned a No. 1 overall seed for the fourth-straight year and is joined in the field by No. 2-seeded UCLA, No. 3-seeded USC, ARIZONA, COLORADO, CALIFORNIA and WASHINGTON STATE.

The Pac-12 currently holds an all-time record of 184-121-27 (.595) in the NCAA Women’s College Cup, with four national championships and five second-place finishes. It has the third-most conference representatives in the field with seven teams and posted back-to-back years with three teams seeded in the top four.

Stanford (18-1-0, 11-0-0) earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and hosts WAC Champion Utah Valley on Saturday, Nov. 10. This is Stanford’s 27th NCAA Tournament appearance, 20th in a row and has hosted the first four rounds in eight of the last nine years while advancing to the College Cup in six of those seasons. The Cardinal enters the postseason with the country’s best record and best offense averaging 3.68 goals per game on 25 shots, both of which lead the nation. The squad is on a 16-game win streak dating back to Aug. 25.

UCLA (15-2-2, 8-2-1) earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament for its 21st overall postseason appearance. The Bruins have a 57-16-5 all-time NCAA record and have advanced to at least the round of 16 in four of the last five seasons. UCLA hosts Mountain West Champion San Diego State (12-7-2) in the first found on Friday, Nov. 10 and have the potential to host through the third round.

Defending NCAA Champion USC (14-3-1, 8-2-1) earned a No. 3 seed heading into its fourth-straight NCAA appearance. The Trojans have posted a 20-13-2 all-time record in the postseason with two NCAA title runs, two third-round appearances and six second-round finishes in 16 bids. USC hosts Big Sky Conference champion Eastern Washington (16-5-1) on Saturday, Nov. 11. Last year, USC hosted the first four rounds of competition before heading to the NCAA College Cup and winning the program’s second all-time title.

Arizona (10-4-4, 7-2-2) has been selected to host the TCU Horned Frogs (12-6-3) in first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 10. The Wildcats are back in the field of 64 after a one-year absence for the program’s fifth all-time trip to the postseason. Arizona is undefeated in the last seven matches for the second-longest streak in Arizona history and most Conference wins with seven.

Washington State (9-7-3, 4-6-1) earned its 11th NCAA Tournament berth with an at-large bid and its third appearance in the last four years. The Cougars travel across the country to face Central Florida (13-1-3) on Saturday, Nov. 11. The Cougars finished seventh in the Pac-12 Conference and went 3-3-1 against ranked opponents, knocking off No. 1 UCLA and No. 14 Nebraska this season.

California (13-5-1, 6-4-1) earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the 14th-consecutive season and hosts WCC Champion Santa Clara (13-6-1) in the first round on Saturday, Nov. 11. The Golden Bears have appeared in the tournament 25 times and the two teams in this match have more combined NCAA appearances than any other matchup in the bracket. With the program’s 25th overall postseason berth, Cal is tied for the fifth most by any Division I women's soccer team. The game will be a rematch from earlier this season where Cal beat Santa Clara, 2-1, in Berkeley.

Colorado (11-5-4, 5-4-2) earned its 10th NCAA Tournament all-time berth and third in the last four years. The Buffs were selected to host the first round game, facing in-state opponent and Summit Champion Denver (11-8-1) on Sunday, Nov. 12. Colorado is currently on a five-match winning streak, including three straight on the road, to close out the season in sixth in the Pac-12.

Thirty-one conferences were granted automatic bids for the 2017 championship, while the remaining 33 teams were selected at-large. The top-16 teams are seeded and conference teams cannot play each other in the first- or second-rounds. When pairing teams, the committee follows geographic proximity parameters. The top 16 teams will host and all other sites were selected for the first-round to create the least number of flights.

First-round games will be played November 10, 11 and 12 at campus sites. The 36th-annual NCAA Women’s College Cup will be played December 1 and 3 at Orlando City Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

Friday, Nov. 10
TCU at Arizona - 6 p.m. PT/ 7 p.m. MT
San Diego State at UCLA - 7 p.m. PT

Saturday, Nov. 11
Eastern Washington at USC - 12 p.m. PT
Santa Clara at California - 1 p.m. PT
Washington State at Central Florida – 4 p.m. PT
Utah Valley at Stanford - 7 p.m. PT

Sunday, Nov. 12
Denver at Colorado - 11 a.m. PT/ 12 p.m. MT