Big Ten reveals 2020-21 women’s soccer postseason schedule

ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Big Ten Conference unveiled the postseason schedule for its 2020-21 women’s soccer season on Saturday night following the conclusion of regular season play.

All 14 teams will compete in a single-elimination Big Ten Regional Weekend on April 8 and 11 at four campus sites. The winning team at each of the four regional locations will advance to the four-team Big Ten Tournament, to be played on the campus of the highest-remaining seed following the Regional Weekend.

The Big Ten Tournament semifinals are set for April 15, with the tournament championship game scheduled for April 18. Game times and television coverage for all Big Ten postseason women’s soccer games will be announced at a later date.

For the Regional Weekend, the schools are seeded and assigned to their regional sites based on the same divisional alignment used during the Big Ten football season.

One set of East regional games will be played at Penn State’s Jeffrey Field and Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. As the top seed in the East (and the Big Ten Champion), Penn State will receive a bye in its first game and will play host to the April 8 matchup between East No. 4 seed Indiana and East No. 5 seed Michigan. The winner of that game will face Penn State on April 11.

The other East regional site will feature two games on April 8 in Columbus, as No. 2 seed Ohio State takes on seventh-seeded Maryland, and No. 3 seed Rutgers battles sixth-seeded Michigan State. The winners of those two games will square off at Ohio State on April 11.

Wisconsin is the top seed in the West and will receive a bye in its first game, while also playing host to the April 8 game between West No. 4 seed Northwestern and No. 5 seed Purdue at the McClimon Soccer Complex in Madison. The Badgers will take on the winner of that game on April 11.

The other West regional will be played at Illinois’ Demirjian Park, with the April 8 games featuring the second-seeded Fighting Illini against No. 7 seed Iowa, and No. 3 seed Minnesota taking on No. 6 seed Nebraska. The winners will advance to an April 11 matchup, also in Champaign.

Following the Regional Weekend, the April 15 semifinals will be reseeded with the highest remaining seed playing host to the lowest remaining seed, while the second-highest remaining seed faces the second-lowest seed in the other semifinal. The winners of those games will meet for the Big Ten Tournament title on April 18, with the champion receiving the conference’s automatic qualification to the NCAA Tournament.