#2 Washington / #15 Cal State Northridge Regional Breakdown
Creighton must feel like it is on the outside looking in as part of this regional, as the six-team regional largely consists of teams along the coast. The Bluejays are the only team not representing either Washington or California in this bracket, but Creighton is certainly a men’s soccer powerhouse and can hold its own. The Washington Huskies have the second overall seed in this regional while Cal State-Northridge holds the No. 15 seed.
Of interest in this region is a possible second-round matchup that would draw huge interest in the immediate Seattle area. The Huskies await the winner of the game between Seattle and Creighton, and a Seattle win would set up a meeting between two schools mere miles from each other. Let’s take a look at the overall bracket:
#2 Washington vs. Creighton/Seattle
This is the 21st trip to the NCAA tournament in 22 seasons for the Bluejays, who finished 9-8-2 overall in 2013. Creighton is one of five Big East schools to make the NCAA tournament this season. A good omen for the Bluejays has to do with their home record, which includes a 7-1-1 performance this season and an 11-1 record in NCAA games played at Omaha. Creighton has made the College Cup portion of the NCAA tournament for two years running, and Coach Elmar Bolowich is vying for his sixth straight College Cup trip (if you count three appearances at North Carolina between 2008 and 2010 before he moved to Creighton). Seattle (10-8-4) finished 7-0-3 in the Western Athletic Conference and won the WAC’s automatic bid. This is Seattle’s first appearance in the NCAA soccer tournament and the first Seattle team to qualify for an NCAA tournament bid in any sport since the 1968-69 men’s basketball team.
Washington (14-1-4) has the No. 2 seed and home-field advantage straight through until the College Cup rounds (Dec. 13-15 in Philadelphia). The Huskies have a record of 4-1-3 against NCAA tournament teams, with the only loss of the season coming against UCLA. Washington has played two teams in this bracket. It beat Stanford twice in Pac-12 regular-season play and also shut out Seattle in a non-conference contest.
#15 Cal State-Northridge vs. Stanford/Loyola Marymount
Stanford (9-6-3 overall) makes its 10th NCAA tournament appearance and its first since 2009 when it takes on Loyola Marymount. Since its first tournament appearance in 1991, the Cardinal has been to three College Cups (1998, 2001 and 2002). Stanford’s huge upset of California no doubt sealed the Cardinal’s fate in clinching an NCAA bid. Strikers Zach Batteer and Jordan Morris have combined to score 14 goals for Stanford. The Cardinal has not faced Loyola Marymount this season, nor has it seen Cal State-Northridge. By virtue of being in the Pac-12, however, Stanford has played Washington twice and lost both times. Loyola Marymount (13-4-2) clinched its first West Coast Conference title in school history. This is the sixth trip to the tournament for Loyola Marymount and, like Stanford, it is the first time since 2009 in tournament play.
Northridge (15-6-1) lost to UC Irvine in the Big West tournament, but they still made the NCAA for the second year in a row and the sixth time in school history. Sagi Lev-Ari has 16 goals and 38 points for CSUN, which would face either Stanford or Loyola Marymount for the first time. The Matadors lost three times against UC Irvine.
See all Men’s Soccer Breakdowns
