NCAA DII Men's Soccer Championship Bracket
PHILIPPI, W.Va. – The Ohio Valley men’s soccer program is venturing into unknown yet exciting territory as the first Great Midwest Athletic Conference school to play in the Sweet 16 of an NCAA Division II Championship bracket.
The No. 1-seeded Fighting Scots (17-1-4 overall) are in the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional final against No. 2 seed Rockhurst for a Thursday clash at 4 p.m. ET on the campus of Alderson Broaddus.
AB’s turf surfaced Multi-Sport Performance Stadium is also serving as host to the Central Region final between No. 1 Northeastern State and No. 2 Fort Hays State. That game will follow on Thursday evening with a 7 p.m. ET start.
The winner of each respective contest would meet for Saturday’s Elite Eight match with a 1 p.m. ET start for the right to advance into Kansas City for the finals.
By virtue of owning the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional, Ohio Valley enjoyed a first-round bye before advancing past Great Midwest rival Davis & Elkins in the second round on PK’s in a shootout.
Ohio Valley won the Great Midwest regular-season title, conference tournament championship and is ranked sixth nationally. The Fighting Scots had eight all-conference selections on this year’s team, including Great Midwest Offensive Player of the Celso Riveros and Great Midwest Defensive Player of the Year Carlos Rubio.
Great Midwest Coach of the Year Luis Rincon has the Fighting Scots already with a single-season conference record for team wins (17) and shutouts (14). OVU has either tied or beaten its last 14 consecutive opponents.
OVU will look to protect its favored seeding against the Hawks of Rockhurst, members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Despite a loss in the GLVC Championship bracket to Missouri S&T, the tourney-tested Hawks blanked GLVC counterparts No. 6 UIndy and No. 3 Maryville in the Midwest Regional thus far.
Rockhurst is a program that has advanced into the Final Four of the men’s soccer bracket three times in the past four seasons. The Hawks are No. 12 in the United Soccer Coaches rankings.
Northeastern State and Fort Hays State are the top two teams ranked in the Central Region and both are receiving votes in the final United Soccer Coaches Poll.