The field of 64 teams that will fight for the 2010 women’s NCAA soccer championship has been set. Stanford, Portland, Maryland and North Carolina are all No. 1 seeds and regional hosts.
Of the 64 teams, 30 qualified automatically by winning their respective conferences and the remaining 34 were selected as at-large bids. First-round play begins Friday, with the exception of UCLA, which hosts BYU on Thursday. Fresno State and Central Florida will also play Thursday at UCLA, with the winner of each game playing Saturday instead of Sunday like the rest of the field.
Check out the entire bracket here.
Since the bracket factors geographical considerations, there are several interesting derby match-ups. Two of the most marquee derbies appear in the Portland region, where Boston College battles Boston University in the opening round and Penn State takes on the University of Pennsylvania.
The College Cup will take place Dec. 3 with the semifinals and the final will be Sunday, Dec. 5 at 12 p.m. (ESPN2).
In 2009, the University of North Carolina captured its 20th national title with a 1-0 win over Stanford University. The way the bracket lays out, the only way the two teams could meet this year is also in the championship.
