DU Pioneers men’s soccer gets No. 3 overall seed in NCAA Tournament
A loss in the Summit League championship game didn't come at much of a cost to the University of Denver men's soccer program.
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A loss in the Summit League championship game didn’t come at much of a cost to the University of Denver men’s soccer program.
Instead, the Pioneers’ overall body of work won over the selection committee as DU was given the No. 3 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament bracket revealed on Monday morning.
With the seed, the Pios received a bye into the second round of the tournament and a date with the winner of Thursday’s first-round match between Oregon State and Gardner-Webb. The second-round match is set for 1 p.m. Sunday at Denver Soccer Stadium.
The No. 3 seed is the highest in DU men’s soccer history. It’s also the program’s fourth bye and 14th NCAA Tournament bid overall. The Pioneers earned the national seed after going 12-3-4 over their pre-NCAA schedule. The last of DU’s three losses came in the Summit League final on Saturday when Kansas City rallied to beat the Pios 2-1 in Denver.
This will be the seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance for the Pioneers, who are 6-7 in tourney games under head coach Jamie Franks. That includes last year’s 1-1 showing that saw the Pios beat Long Island 2-1 in the first round and fall at No. 6 SMU by the same score in the second round.
Ohio State (14-1-3) received the top seed in the bracket, followed by No. 2 Pittsburgh (12-5-0), DU and No. 4 Georgetown (11-4-5).
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