INDIANAPOLIS – The University of New Hampshire men's soccer team (16-1-2, 7-0-1 America East) is the No. 16 seed and has earned a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament. UNH will take on the winner of Loyola Maryland (10-6-3, 7-2-0 Patriot League) and North Carolina (11-6-1, 4-4-0 ACC) on Sunday, Nov. 21 in the second round at Wildcat Stadium at 2 p.m.
This will be UNH's fourth trip to the second round in program history.
The Wildcats received an at-large bid to the 48-team tournament. The field is made up of champions from 23 conferences, who qualified automatically, in addition to 25 teams that were selected at-large. The top 16 teams received a bye to the second round. The Wildcats watching the Selection Show on the video board at Wildcat Stadium (Photo by Stu Horne)
This is UNH's sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and fifth straight as the Wildcats earned at-large bids to the 1994 and 2017 tournaments, and automatic bids to the tournament in 2018, 2019 and 2020. UNH advanced to the Round of 16 in 2017.
North Carolina received an at-large bid and will be making its 28th NCAA Tournament appearance. UNC won the national championship in 2001 and 2011. The Tar Heels went 11-6-1 overall this season and 4-4-0 in the ACC. This will be the ninth NCAA Tournament appearance for Loyola Maryland. The Greyhounds won the Patriot League Tournament to clinch the bid.
UNH went 16-1-2 (.895) overall this season which is the third best winning percentage in the nation and is the program's best winning percentage in school history. The 16 wins are also a school record. The Wildcats went 7-0-1 in America East earning the regular season championship for the third straight season and their fourth regular season championship in program history.
The Wildcats have 11 shutouts and have outscored the opposition this season, 43-8. UNH is first in the nation with a 0.411 team goals against average.
The Wildcats are 8-1-2 at home this season as they have scored 27 goals and have only allowed five. UNH is 42-2-7 all-time at Wildcat Stadium, outscoring the opposition, 105-19.
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