Each of the 48 men’s college soccer teams now know the path that lays ahead of them. The road to Santa Barbara, and the 2010 College Cup, will begin with first-round action on Thursday.
The top 16 seeds of the tournament receive a bye to the second round, but only the top four – Louisville, Maryland, Akron and North Carolina – are guaranteed home-field advantage until the Final Four when the games will be held in California.
Conference champions don’t necessarily constitute the majority of the seeded teams, as the Ratings Percentage Index factors into the decision.
READ: INTERACTIVE NCAA BRACKET
While the ACC is generally regarded as one of the dominant conferences of college soccer, their five selections were indicative of the off year that plagued the division. In fact, they were overshadowed by the Big East, which sent eight teams, and the Big Ten, which has four sides ranked in the top 16, vs. the ACC’s two.
While the Ivy League isn’t as highly regarded of a conference, it was well represented. Princeton was denied a seed, but the conference sends four teams to the Dance.
NCAA Tournament Top
16:
1. Louisville
2. Maryland
3. Akron
4. North Carolina
5. SMU
6. California
7. South Carolina
8. UCLA
9. Notre Dame
10. Michigan
11. Connecticut
12. William & Mary
13. Butler
14. Indiana
15. Penn State
16. Ohio State
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