Pitt, Penn State, WVU soccer teams earn at-large bids to NCAA Tournament

Bill Hartlep | Monday, April 19, 2021 2:43 p.m.

Pitt athletics

Pitt soccer players Valentin Noel (8), Bryce Washington (4), Alexander Dexter (13) and Veljko Petkovic (19) celebrate during an early-season match during the 2020 season.

Members of the Pitt men’s soccer team knew they would be in the field for the NCAA Tournament after reaching a No. 1 ranking at the end of the regular season.

Despite falling to Clemson in the ACC’s automatic qualifier match Saturday, the Panthers secured an at-large berth into the NCAA field on Monday afternoon.

The Panthers also were tabbed as one of the favorites to contend for a title, receiving a No. 2 overall seed.

We’re in ?

The Panthers are the NUMBER TWO overall seed!#H2P pic.twitter.com/I5rzJgAlL5

— Pitt Men's Soccer (@Pitt_MSOC) April 19, 2021

Pitt (13-3) was awarded a first-round bye and awaits the winner of Bowling Green (7-4-1) and Monmouth (5-2-1). The second-round game will be at 8 p.m. May 2, in Greensboro, N.C.

Bowling Green is in the 36-team tournament for the first time since 1997.

Pitt, which went 9-1 and won its first ACC Coastal Division title, is in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time (1962, ‘65, 2019).

Clemson, which beat Pitt, 2-0, on Saturday, earned the No. 1 seed. Big Ten champion Indiana and Pac-12 champ Stanford were seeded Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.

Penn State also was among 14 at-large selections. The Nittany Lions (8-1-2) will play UMass (7-1-3) on May 2 in the second round at UNC Greensboro.

Penn State is making its 34th NCAA appearance, including back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2013-14.

The Nittany Lions lost to Providence in the second round in 2019.

Four first-round games are scheduled for April 29, and second-round games are May 2. The semifinals are May 14, with the national championship game set for May 17.

The entire tournament will take place in or around Cary, N.C.

Penn State women earn at-large bid

The Penn State women’s soccer team will play Alabama State (8-2-2) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at 7 p.m. April 28.

The Nittany Lions (10-2-1), who were the Big Ten regular-season champions for the 20th time, have advanced to the third round in each of the past three seasons. They won the NCAA championship in 2015.

Alabama State won the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s automatic bid after defeating Grambling State in the SWAC tournament championship match.

The NCAA women’s soccer tournament also will be played in and around Cary, N.C.

West Virginia women draw No. 5 seed

The West Virginia women’s soccer team was awarded the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play the winner of Rice (12-2-1) and Furman (8-0-2) in the second round at 3 p.m. April 19.

The Mountaineers finished the regular season 10-2-1. They have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 21 straight seasons.

“We’re obviously very excited to participate in this College Cup,” WVU coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “I’m going to contribute everything to this team because they’ve been so locked in and so focused to our success.”

Florida State (11-0) is the No. 1 seed, followed by North Carolina (15-1), UCLA (12-1-2) and TCU (11-1-1).